A Look Back

The late 1980's were a difficult time for hospitals across the country as they began to experience decreasing reimbursements and increasingly lower dependency on inpatient care. Better technology, newer techniques, and the emergence of managed care in the marketplace all combined to begin changing roles of America's hospitals.

Over the last decade, it has been the job of the Board of Trustees and the Administration of South Haven Community Hospital to oversee and direct this shift toward outpatient care; toward careful fiscal management; toward creating a system of healthcare delivery that links with other Southwest Michigan hospitals and providers; toward building and maintaining a level of quality service.

Through the 1990's we tried to be sure that we were raising our sights each year, and have worked steadily to reach both fiscal objectives and to improve our level of quality. This is not an easy task, nor will it become easier in years to come. But this is the job of hospitals today.

Service & Quality
We have maintained a Home Healthcare service that now provides over 10,000 home visits a year for area residents, providing not only nursing care and assessments, but additional important services like physical therapy, IV therapy, wound care, and environmental assessments. Our Home Care Service is approaching their 15-year anniversary. Lifeline Personal Communication equipment is also available through our home health office, helping people who live alone feel more confident and secure.

An additional service now available is the SHCH Private Duty Home Care Service, which is paid for directly by the client and allows us to provide additional services not covered by Medicare, such as personal care, meal preparation, and even errands. This service does not require a doctor's order, as it does for traditional, clinical Home Care services.

We have continually strengthened our community outreach through health fairs, free or low-cost screening clinics for various diseases, specific programs for women's health and well-being, and health education programs for people of all ages in an overall effort to help area residents manage their health status.

Over the past ten years, we have adopted a system of Performance Improvement that integrates Our Medical Staff, Employees, and members of our Board of Trustees into a process that continually works toward improving our level of service and clinical care. We are very proud to be fully accredited by The Joint Commission.

Facility & Technology
In 1992, the community showed support for their local hospital as industries, businesses and citizens came together through Operation: Partnership under the leadership of Ray Holden and Ron Zile. Over $700,000 was donated toward a complete renovation of our surgery department. Today a busy surgery schedule provides general surgery, gynecologic surgery, breast surgery, eye surgery, ENT (ear, nose and throat) surgery, and orthopedic surgery, including complete replacements of hips, knees and shoulders, as well as endoscopic procedures such as colonoscopies.

In recent years, we have added significantly to our diagnostic radiology services, including the purchase of a brand-new 64-slice CT scanner. This scanner is used for a wide variety of diagnostic procedures which can be accomplished very quickly. Included is a Calcium Scoring test which helps to identify build-up in cardiac arteries. We offer a top-of-the-line mammography unit - the Diamond model by Instrumentarium; nuclear medicine testing equipment; a new digital fluoroscopy suite; and bone-density testing equipment. SHCH has also established a digital system for the vast majority of our Radiology, or “imaging” services, providing a virtually “filmless” system.

We continue to provide outreach medical services to residents of nearby communities through the Cooper Medical Clinic in Bangor, which is being completely renovated this year, and the Covert Medical Center in Covert.

In 2004 we opened the new Shoreline Women’s Center on the west side of the hospital along Bailey Avenue. This provides a modern and comfortable atmosphere for our staff of obstetrician/gynecologists and certified nurse midwives to see patients. Services like mammography, ultrasound, and bone-density testing are available right at the Center to provide “one-stop shopping” for area women. A number of complementary services such as massage, skin care services, laser hair removal and spider-vein removal are offered, as well as many resources and classes for area women in subjects like heart-health, fitness, menopause, and coping skills. Providers at the Shoreline Women’s Center also offer the very popular option of water-birthing for mothers-to-be.

The Radiology Department has been completely renovated to provide space for new and upgraded diagnostic equipment, and to create a dedicated suite for patient privacy. A new central corridor adjacent to our center courtyard is now used for public access.

A new Infusion & Treatment Center has been established, also adjacent to the center courtyard, providing a modern and spacious area for patients to receive such treatments as outpatient chemotherapy, outpatient IV treatments, and blood transfusions. The surgery recovery area and family waiting area have been expanded and remodeled to allow for the growth of surgical procedures.

The second floor inpatient care area has been completely renovated, including the Special Care Unit (SCU) and the medical/surgical floor. One of the results of this renovation is that virtually all patient rooms are now private rooms. Since SHCH does not charge extra for a private room, this was done primarily for the safety, privacy and convenience of our patients and their families.

A Sleep Disorders Center has also been added to the SHCH diagnostic services, under the direction of our Cardiopulmonary/EKG/Respiratory Department. This service can detect such disorders as sleep apnea, in which a person may actually stop breathing for brief periods during sleep. Sleep disorders can lead to a variety of other health problems.

Through a coordinated grant with Borgess Hospital in Kalamazoo, SHCH has now established a closed-circuit network called “TeleHealth”, which brings in a variety of live medical education programs for physicians and hospital staff. Future grants are being considered to allow for closed-circuit audio and video conferencing for patients and their physician to access various specialists at Borgess Hospital.

The community has once again come together to help support the hospital’s plan to create a brand-new state-of-the-art Wellness & Rehabilitation Center on Bailey Avenue across from the Main Campus. Over $1.25 million was raised toward this Center under the campaign leadership of Dr. John Young, SHCH Obstetrician/Gynecologist; Hospital Trustee Greg O’Niel, and Community Members Sue Knytych, and Mark McClendon. The initial gift to SHCH of a portion of the land and existing building on Bailey Avenue by the Murk Family of South Haven opened the door for this project.

Following a great deal of planning and construction, the Center was opened in November, 2007. In addition to a health club atmosphere which the public can access, complete with swimming pools, the Center provides the new location for all physical, occupational and speech therapy services, as well as cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation The orthopedic surgery office, South Haven Orthopedics, and the Shoreline Occupational Medicine offices are now located in this new facility. The Center also provides a wide variety of community health and wellness programs for people of all ages.

Providing this type of facility and programming is a very tangible way that South Haven Community Hospital expresses its Mission: “… to improve the health of our community”!

The Mission of South Haven Community Hospital is to improve the health of our community by providing exceptional customer service, high quality, cost-effective, appropriate and accessible healthcare services.

About Your Care
Your care and safety is very important to us. If you have questions or concerns at South Haven Community Hospital, please let us know!

Your caregiver is your advocate, so he or she should be the first person involved, and we encourage you to ask questions of them. You may also feel comfortable in bringing questions or concerns directly to the hospital by contacting the SHCH Quality/Risk Manager & Joint Commission Coordinator at 269-639-2806.

If you feel you would like to contact The Joint Commission directly, you may do so by telephone at 1-800-994-6610 or e-mail them through their web site at www.jointcommission.org

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