CEO, Baptist Memorial Hospital - Huntingdon
Take a staff accountant in a small hospital that realized in her first year she had a passion for healthcare, add to that managing the business office and the result is an administrator. That is the equation that has afforded Susan Breeden her role for the past 17 years as administrator of Baptist Memorial Hospital in Huntingdon.
“I have a B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in accounting and began my career as a staff accountant in a small hospital then was promoted to the business office manager. In 1988 I moved to Baptist – Huntingdon to manage the business office and ultimately worked with Baptist Health Care Corporation entities troubleshooting business office issues,” said Breeden. “In 1989, I left for an opportunity at another facility as the chief financial officer but realized the grass is not always greener on the other side. In 1993, I returned to BMH-Huntingdon as the CFO and to work with affiliated physicians’ offices. In 1997, I took over the role of administrator.”
Coming from an accounting background, one may think Breeden is all about the numbers when it comes to managing the 70-bed hospital staff that includes 195 employees, four of which are senior leaders and 17 directors. While she definitely has a grasp of the business aspect of the healthcare arena, she bases her philosophy on treating others with the respect they deserve and puts patients first.
“If we treat others as we want to be treated and consistently make sure patients come first, everything else will fall into place,” said Breeden.” I believe the quality and safety of the care you give patients must be the top priority along with maintaining a focus on the staff providing the care. Our purpose for being in the healthcare industry is to care for our patients as if each is our family member.”
Because she came from the business side, Breeden acknowledges that initially in her career, understanding and learning the language of healthcare was a challenge. “Medicine has its own terms and acronyms,” she said. “It was something I had to work on to understand the terminology but after 20+ years, I have it down pat.”
Being in a small rural area, Breeden has opportunities as well as challenges. Her biggest challenge is recruiting physicians to Carroll County followed by reimbursement and healthcare reform. On the flip side, Breeden sees that communication is better. “Recruitment is our number one battle but we have reimbursement issues which cause us to have to be smarter in terms of the types of services we can provide,” she said. “It is important that as a rural facility, we understand what healthcare reform will mean for rural healthcare and who we need to be based on what that reform will mean for us. It is my goal to be the best we can for those we serve and at the forefront of healthcare.”
Baptist Memorial Healthcare is in the process of implementing its fully integrated electronic health record program, Baptist OneCare, system wide. Baptist OneCare gives patients the power to access their own records, refill prescriptions, make doctor’s appointments and even consult with the physician’s office from any computer or mobile device. For the provider, the EHR means a seamless continuum of care when it comes to treatment, imaging, lab and referral services.
“The program is being implemented in phases. We are less than a year out from implementation at our facility but have already implemented it in our doctor’s offices. We have four credential trainers that will be working with others who have already gone live with the program so that we can draw on the lessons they learned,” said Breeden. “We are working on our process to make it easier with the ultimate goal of having a smooth transition.”
Baptist OneCare offers the patient a secure portal to access information about their healthcare online from virtually anywhere. Patient records are interchangeable among healthcare providers, which allows for timely exchange of information. “Baptist OneCare is one more way Baptist Memorial Healthcare is keeping the patient at the forefront. It also allows for family centered care,” said Breeden. “When it is appropriate to involve family members in the care of a loved on, the EHR, will be a great step towards facilitating that involvement.”
Under Breeden’s leadership, Baptist- Huntingdon has been recognized on the state and national level for the care they provide. In 2013, the facility was a Top Performer on the Key Quality Measures for pneumonia care as designated by the Joint Commission. Baptist Home Care and Hospice-Huntingdon has consistently ranked among the top home care agencies in the nation in the HomeCare Elite rankings. The HomeCare Elite list identifies the top 25 percent of home care agencies in the United States based on quality of care, quality improvement and financial performance. Baptist Huntingdon is also a recipient of the prestigious Tennessee Quality Commitment Award.
While Breeden has many goals she wants to realize before she says goodbye to her career in healthcare, she does hope that retirement will afford her the opportunity to enjoy some of her passions in life, her kids, her garden and fishing. “I used to be an avid horseman, but I leave the riding these days to my daughter who is a senior at UT-Martin and is s barrel racer,” said Breeden. “My son will start high school next year and will be playing football so that keeps me busy in the fall.”
Breeden feels fortunate to work for a faith-based organization that’s mission has allowed her to grow her leadership abilities. “I encourage feedback about opportunities that I can develop from those working beside me and accept the feedback with an open mind,” said Breeden. “In addition, I truly believe if we reach a point in our career that we don't believe we can improve the care of our patients or leadership given to our staff, we should find another career.”
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