OGH CEO Weighs Challenges, Seeks Community Investment

 OGH CEO Weighs Challenges, Seeks Community Investment

BOBBY ARDOIN

Editor/Contributing Editor

Opelousas General Health Systems CEO Lance Armentor admits his surprise at the number of challenges confronting him as he assumed control of the facility earlier this year.

Armentor says he was confronted initially with considerable staff dissatisfaction, patient complaints about overall health care delivery and the costs involved for an independent rural hospital to operate while still attempting to provide sufficient services.

“It was pretty much known that when I got here, the data showed the hospital had struggled financially over the last few years. Operational costs were increasing and so were the costs of supplies.Our reimbursements were also going down,” Armentor told members of the Opelousas Noon Rotary Club on Tuesday.

Armentor added that during the past couple of months he and the OGH administration have taken steps to correct the major issues while attempting to operate as an independent hospital.

There is also a vision which involves recommitting to invest in maintaining a local presence and involvement, Armentor said.

“What we want to do is bring the hospital back to its roots. We want to become a community hospital again,” Armentor told the Rotarians.

Armentor, who previously worked administratively for several larger Louisiana hospitals, said that after he reviewed Facebook comments posted on the St. Landry Now.com website regarding the facility, that he realized OGH needed to begin taking a different approach.

Those social media sentiments were reflected in an initial staff survey in which about 70 percent of the OGH employees stated that they were unhappy with working at the hospital.

Patient surveys displayed what Armentor described as sporadic complaints about the care they had received at the hospital.

Armentor said that during the past few months his efforts at reinvigorating staff morale has improved. A July survey indicates that staff satisfaction has improved by 64 percent, Armentor pointed out.

Response from patients has risen also, Armentor added. Feedback from those receiving OGH care has improved to as high as 70 to 99 percent, said Armentor.

OGH is additionally attempting to reduce the amount of services previously outsourced to companies outside of St. Landry Parish, Armentor noted.

“Those were revenue dollars that were leaving the parish locally. We want to keep every dollar in the community,” said Armentor.

OGH, Armentor said, is making improved efforts to take care of physicians affiliated with the hospital in addition to hiring emergency room doctors and personnel employed by the facility.

“One of the goals is to build better relationships between the administration, the public and the staff. An issue that concerned the staff that the doors of the administration were not always open to them. We’ve unlocked the doors of the administration for the last four or five months,” Armentor said.

Armentor said OGH recently received a $10 million commitment from the state to help with operational expenses. There are also plans to provide more in patient care as well as assistance with community mental health, Armentor added.

Decisions on how to utilize the OGH South Campus on I-49 is a project that is still ongoing, Armentor pointed out.  At this point the facility plans to use the South Campus for outpatient and emergency room procedures, said Armentor.