Independent hospitals continue to be incredibly important to the communities they serve, not only for the health and welfare of its citizens, but also due to the fact they create an economic ripple effect.
On Sunday, October 30, 2022, Ralph A. Castillo, CPA, Chief Executive Officer of Morgan Medical Center, explored this importance as the featured guest on “Lenz on Business,” a weekly, one-hour business talk show on 95.5 WSB.
With more than 30 years of experience in the healthcare industry, Castillo joined Morgan Medical Center in 2012. In 2018, Castillo oversaw Morgan Medical Center’s move into its current location, a state-of-the-art hospital with modern technology, enhanced treatment facilities, and upgraded amenities. As CEO, Castillo champions the hospital’s vision of becoming a patient-focused center of excellence.
Castillo and host Jon Waterhouse discussed an array of topics, including the history of Morgan Medical Center, what makes it unique, the hospital’s long-term goals, its current growth, and more. Additionally, Castillo emphasized the significance of Morgan Medical Center’s regionally renowned inpatient rehabilitation or swing bed program.
The swing bed program at Morgan Medical Center allows patients to recuperate following orthopedic surgery, stroke, or a variety of other medical conditions or surgical procedures requiring hospitalization of three days or longer. The program’s main goal is to provide the time and services a recovering patient needs prior to returning home or relocating to an assisted living community.
According to Castillo, Morgan Medical Center’s swing bed program works to stop hospital associated deconditioning (HAD), a multisystem decline due extended hospitalization. Patients with HAD often have a myriad of metabolic, respiratory, or infection issues due to deconditioning that require medical supervision and rehabilitation. After acute hospitalization, older adults with HAD often utilize swing bed programs to return to their prehospitalization level of function.
“What is good about the program is the patient outcomes are almost always clinically successful,” Castillo said. “We have stroke patients, who are wheeled in on a stretcher, and they walk out of the hospital. The program is an aggressive program that enables the good outcomes. And we’re able to bring all three modalities — physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy— to the care plan.”
Castillo touched on a variety of other business-related subjects, ranging from the strategy behind Morgan Medical Center’s employee on-boarding process to the importance of having a chief medical officer at an independent hospital.
If you missed Ralph A. Castillo, CPA on “Lenz on Business,” you can listen to the full episode below: