Atrium Health Anson
Like many community hospitals, Anson Community Hospital was an important and critical resource for Wadesboro and the surrounding region since opening in 1954. But by 2012, it was approaching the end of its useful life and needed considerable reinvestment, but like many rural hospitals the daily patient census was low. However, there was a significant need in the community for care. A new approach was needed.
Atrium Health, formerly Carolinas HealthCare System, made the important decision to reimagine and redevelop the facility in such a way that it would improve the health outcomes of the community while being a long-term, financially sustainable solution.
The result is an innovative, community-focused care delivery model tailor-made for the region. The new facility is built around primary care and prevention but incorporates an emergency department, a core team of care providers, and telemedicine for specialist access.
The goal of the new $20 million 43,000-square-foot hospital was to eliminate waste and improve flow, patient privacy and patient experience for the 25,000 people served in Anson County and surrounding areas. The facility consists of 15 inpatient beds, 10 emergency bays, an operating room, outpatient behavioral health space, community education room, traditional ancillary services, such as radiology, lab, and pharmacy, and a patient-centered primary care practice co-located in the emergency department. Overall, the model increased access to care, improved care coordination and lowered the cost of care.
“The health system used a community-focused care model to restructure and provide care in Anson County by creating a new hospital model equipped with the services and capabilities necessary to meet patient needs,” said Michael Lutes, president, Southeastern Division at Atrium Health. “We right sized clinical spaces and modernized the care environment which has been a positive change for the community.”
In addition to the new hospital, which opened in 2014, Atrium Health debuted a brand-new mobile health unit in early 2018 to serve Anson County with regularly scheduled visits to community centers, shopping centers and other general community settings to offer community residents diagnostics, screenings and education. The Anson mobile unit is equipped for patient care with two exam rooms, a work space for patient navigation and data entry, scales and a wheel chair lift. The Anson Mobile Unit has the capacity to perform blood pressure, glucose, weight, body mass index measurements and provides referrals to appropriate resources at Atrium Health and other county health resources.