™ GOODA HEALTHCARE JOURNAL FROM HEALTHSANSUM CLINIC • ISSUE 25 • FALL 2020 25TH ISSUE COVID + FLU don’t risk two ADVANCEMENTS IN UROLOGY ONLINE BILL PAY IS HERE TEEN HEALTH PANEL OF EXPERTS WELCOME Dear Patients, A free publication from Healthcare across the globe has been forever changed Sansum Clinic published by COVID-19 and Sansum Clinic is no different. The three times a year pandemic delivered a double-edged effect, creating new ISSUE 25 • FALL 2020 operational challenges while also highlighting our many strengths. What emerged most clearly was the character Sansum Clinic’s mission is to provide an of our people. The bravery, dedication, compassion excellent healthcare experience, recognizing and professionalism of our team is the anchor of this our first priority is the patients we serve. organization. These values have been a guide through unforeseen circumstances throughout a nearly 100-year Sansum Clinic is accredited by the history, and shone brightly while battling a new and still not- Institute for Medical Quality fully-understood virus. Kurt N. Ransohoff, MD, FACP March of 2020 will remain forever embedded in Sansum Clinic’s institutional memory as Chief Executive Officer and staff members dug in to learn everything they could about the novel coronavirus, from its Chief Medical Officer origins to its ability to spread, to its impact on health. Medical Director Marjorie Newman, MD, partnered with the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department to stay at the Chad Hine, MBA forefront of protecting patients, employees and the community. Battling worldwide shortages Chief Operating Officer of personal protective equipment, clinicians and managers worked tirelessly alongside our Purchasing Department to outfit every site with appropriate masks and gear, while Sansum Clinic researching the best practices to reduce the risk of transmission. Screening and social Corporate Office distancing protocols went into effect at all of our 23 locations, from exam rooms to waiting 470 South Patterson Avenue areas, to maintain a virus-free environment in which to continue care. An appointment- Santa Barbara, CA 93111 based, drive-up testing site was constructed to safely evaluate patients for coronavirus, and (805) 681-7700 both of our pharmacies created new ways to get medications to patients. Pediatrics turned www.SansumClinic.org to car-based injections to sustain important vaccinations for children. Our IT teams created Editor web pages and a symptom-checking app to keep residents informed about the evolving Jill Fonte, Director of Marketing/ indicators of the virus. Clinic communication dove into the virtual world of ZOOM as in- Public Information Officer person group meetings became impossible. Contributing Writers By the time California Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order cancelling all Dru A. Hartley, Jill Fonte, Nicole Young non-urgent, elective medical procedures and visits, patients were delaying medical care in Contributing Photographers droves due to virus concerns. As a result, Sansum Clinic experienced an overnight 50% drop Nik Blaskovich, Nicole Young in patient volume. The Clinic displayed strong financial results at the end of 2019, however as a non-profit organization, the operation, which takes about a million dollars per day to If you would like to make a gift to function, took a huge financial hit. Sansum Clinic leadership carefully deliberated over Sansum Clinic, please contact Dru A. Hartley, which budgetary solutions might offer the best long-term viability. Ultimately, more than 700 Director of Philanthropy, (805) 681-7726, employees received temporary full or partial furloughs (representing half our workforce and [email protected] one-third of our payroll) designed to keep the doors open, with the hope that patient volume would eventually improve. A federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan of $6 million All gifts are tax-deductible provided a boost, but realistically only put a small dent in the amount needed to keep the to the extent allowed by law. financial ship afloat. When patients and businesses contacted Sansum Clinic with offers of Tax ID #: 95-6419205 contributions and gifts in-kind, the Pandemic Relief Fund was established to help cover costs of COVID-related expenses. Design by Idea Engineering Born from necessity, ours and others’ responses to this pandemic sped up one of the biggest If you would like to be removed from our mailing list, please send an email trends in healthcare: telemedicine. While this type of virtual offering may have normally with your full name and address to taken many months to initiate, Sansum Clinic’s healthcare technology gurus built and [email protected]. launched a successful Telehealth program in less than three weeks, allowing patients to receive care from the comfort and safety of their homes. Hundreds of providers learned to log on and conduct virtual visits, reducing exposure for those who required in-person appointments while still continuing essential medical care. continued on page 1 g GRATEFUL PATIENT GRATEFUL PATIENT continued from inside front cover From the Good EveningPatient Dr. Newman, While Ridley-Tree Cancer Center’s oncologists wondered if Sansum Clinic Mailbox the pandemic would delay proper diagnosis and treatment, My nameBusiness is Michael Cheng. Services My the world-class care, stringent safety protocols and strong wife and I have been living in relationships built on mutual trust reassured patients to the area since 1978. We, as well continue the lifesaving therapies they required. Supportive as the family have been clients staff members, always a key to a patient’s experience at Ridley- of the Clinic for as long as I can Tree, became even more essential as the COVID-19 bubble remember. The ‘Good Health It is with great pleasure that we are able Magazine’ is something I will closed around many families dealing with cancer. Telehealth to contribute to the welfare and growth of readSansum from Clinic. My page wife Kathy to and page I both whenever I could get it. It is very visits with providers, virtual social work meetings and wellness find it a pleasure to have such a quality informativemedical facility nearby. in content and in getting to know some new classes helped to extend care to some of our most medically- doctorsAlthough we who are here are in San joining Luis Obispo the Clinic. compromised patients. As each summer month of COVID-19 county, and represent only 4% of your Changes are underway in the Sansum Clinic financial departments which Dr.client Newman, population, we haveyou discovered were that instrumental work on receiving in payment bringing for the healthcare the following services we provide here in our ticked by, Sansum Clinic constantly fine-tuned each new tool your schedulers go out of their way to community. These team members who manage billing and insurance will now accommodate our same-day drive from be known as the Patient Business Services Department. and task, listening closely to patient feedback and to guidance talentsPismo Beach to for our multiple area: appointments. Estella Wu and Lily Yip (pharmacists), and as a speaker, Dr. Kimmie Ng. The following description: “…when from across the medical spectrum. Our experiences with serious issues, like Their new logo is a colorful puzzle with interlocking parts, a reflection of the Medicaljoint replacement, Director have been Dr. smooth, Marjorie many Newman people who gatherrang and her document (Dr. important Yip) patient to information each day problem free events with experts in their across more than 22 clinic locations. From the medical services coordinator who discussspecialty like the Dr. James use Zmolek. of clinical His gift of pharmacists,handles registration something to the doctor who documentsuncommon an office visit, each employee Partnerships across our community are the underpinnings of trouble-free super surgery is only surpassed plays a critical role, according to Chief Financial Officer Alex Bauer. forby his independent excellent communication organizations skills. the size of Sansum Clinic” sums how we choose to do business. It’s an important part of our it all in what kind of leader youBauer really and his team are began as an director. organization-wide You educational were effort this fall so all Dr. George Messerlian, before his Sansum Clinic staff could have better understanding of this process. Managers mission and institutions like Direct Relief and others contributed ableretirement, to think was also aoutside favorite visit of for the boxexamined and how you to refine have and improve nothing this giant but data haulthe at every stage. “We me. He was a competent, comforting are focused on making this as easy and streamlined as possible for our patients. greatly to our efforts to fight COVID-19. These longstanding bestDoctor of who what was also couldvery good beat patient for the Clinic.It’s an effort Dr. to get Newman, it right for the patient, my so wifetheir services and are I covered or paid communication. But his replacement, for,” explains Bauer. Even for someone who has a law degree, an MBA and connections helped us to stretch and pivot during a challenging areDr. Todd the Engstrom, direct has benefactors also been a of youryears of incessantaccounting experience, attempt this executive into can relatemaking to patients navigating thewonderful Clinic experience a better and has place instilled for allthe of difficult your plain clients-patients. of health insurance coverage. “Even when I look at my own season. Deaths due to coronavirus within our own community confidence in me with his excellent insurance explanation of benefits document, I find it confusing to read. And I have been a tragic reality. Until the virus is no longer a threat, advice, guidance, and technical medical kind of live this stuff every day. We want to help patients understand,” says Bauer. Myinformation. doctor, His Dr.“Sansum Kershaw Way” is right also demonstrates the kind of care and our collective determination to work through these hardships and on the mark for me, who always needs to New features coming to our Electronic Health Record and MyChart applications attentionknow the extra, to why.