A new orthopedic partnership in Tennessee is giving Campbell Clinic the opportunity to work in tandem with a health system while strengthening ties with another private practice.
The Germantown, Tenn.-based practice recently announced its partnership with Johnson City, Tenn.-based Ballad Health to launch the Appalachian Highlands Orthopedic Network.
John Crockarell, MD, chief of staff at Campbell Clinic, spoke with Becker’s about the decision to partner with the health system and his hopes for orthopedic access.
Note: This conversation was lightly edited for clarity.
Question: How did the relationship between Campbell Clinic and Ballad Health develop? What made you confident this was the right network to align with? Why now?
Dr. John Crockarell: It started with an affiliation with Appalachian Orthopedics and Neurosurgery in Bristol, Tenn., almost a year ago. They do their inpatient work within the Ballad system because it covers the same geography of East Tennessee and parts of Virginia, so we’ve had ongoing discussions about other interests with that group. Ballad initiated the Appalachian Highlands Orthopedic Network, and they knew of our affiliation with Appalachian Orthopedics. It became a natural extension for us to be involved in the network. As far as our confidence, a lot of that stems from our relationship with Appalachian Orthopedics. They’re excellent surgeons, and culturally, we align very nicely with them and vice versa, so all those things made us feel good about this relationship.
Q: Describe the orthopedic access network in Tennessee. What are the gaps that you hope to address and what strengths will be bolstered?
JC: Well, as far as access goes in East Tennessee, where this network is in place, there were pretty significant access issues because a lot of the smaller community hospitals were closing. That’s why Ballad was able to really come in. They got a legal exemption to have somewhat of a monopoly, so that they could sort of stabilize these two systems that were having to close or thinking about closing. The ability to bring those two hospital systems together into one gave them the scale to be able to keep some of these smaller regional hospitals open, so that patients could have better local access and local healthcare.
Q: There’s also a recruitment element. How has your approach to hiring evolved? What will Ballad’s partnership enhance?
JC: As far as recruitment goes, our affiliation with Appalachian Orthopedics surgeons provides some stability for them. That’s why they wanted to affiliate with us in the first place. That can only help them to recruit to the area when incoming physicians realize that they have some economic stability that’s bound to be more attractive than economic uncertainty. Being part of this network lends some stability as well to that group. And it gives Appalachian Orthopedics more of an opportunity to serve perhaps a little bit broader area than they would have been able to otherwise on their own.
Q: How will you measure success for this partnership? What kind of indicators will tell you in a year or two that it’s working?
JC: Some of that will be soft metrics, like patient satisfaction. Harder metrics will come as we try to define and streamline care pathways. The usual metrics that you look at like length of stay, complication rates and return to the hospital will improve as well.
It’s been really refreshing to be involved both with a hospital system and an orthopedic group that shares our values. That’s why we decided to be a part of it. We’re about excellence, integrity, compassion and innovation, and we feel like Ballad and Appalachian Orthopedics are about those things as well.
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