If you ask Chairman and CEO of the Nix Health Care System, John F. Strieby, what 'fragmentation’ is, he could tell you many different illustrative health care stories. Princeton University Wordnet describes it as “slowing system performance because it takes extra time to locate and assemble the parts.” Mr. Strieby would smile knowingly, and offer yet another example of what that really means to today’s patients.
“In most health care settings today, you see your primary care physician in his or her office. If any tests or lab work are needed, the patient must make an appointment for another day, and go to another location. The results of that test or lab work may take days to get back to the originating physician, if they get back at all. If a specialist is needed, another appointment is made, sometimes weeks later, and again at a different location. The specialist and the primary care physician might speak by phone, sometimes much later, sometimes not at all. This is what I mean by fragmentation,” Mr. Strieby notes.
“At the Nix, we take a totally different stance. The Nix is a destination hospital, meaning patients will go out of their way to come to the Nix. We might be one of the oldest hospitals in the city, but it’s here where you will find the health care of the future.”
Mr. Strieby can cite example upon example of patients who have traveled great distances and exhausted many resources, yet still have no answers to their medical problems. “They come to the Nix, and find that doctors here talk to other doctors. At the Nix, the primary care physician works with the specialist to rapidly diagnose a medical problem and initiate a coordinated medical treatment plan. This approach, which I refer to as a continuum of medical care, dramatically reduces fragmentation, which in turn reduces costs, increases quality of care and ultimately provides a more powerful and positive patient outcome. Patient satisfaction at the Nix is extraordinary. That is what makes it a destination hospital.”
These results are exemplified by the numerous national quality awards the NIX Health Care System has received over the years from major accreditation agencies, in all aspects of patient care. The most recent is from the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS), which awarded the Nix Weight Loss Surgery Center the Center of Excellence designation. This important designation means the Nix is recognized as a center with the “best outcomes with fewer complications”. Strieby says, “This is just another example of how an integrated approach to patient care leads to better quality of care, and better patient outcomes.”
To illustrate his point further, Strieby refers to the Nix’s tagline: “Where patients are not just cared for, but cared about.”
“This originated with one of our nurses who was explaining what set the Nix apart from other health care systems. I thought it was a very powerful statement, and it captured the essence of what our doctors and nurses do every day. By offering an extensive continuum of care, from medical to surgical to rehab to behavioral health services, the Nix has a virtually integrated and formidable system. The patient’s primary care physician can control patient care and can easily navigate that care throughout the system, with specialists of every kind working together to provide the best possible outcome.”
As Chairman and CEO, Strieby oversees an annual operating budget of about 130 million, and is responsible for the operation of the system’s three facilities. Perhaps the most well known to locals is the Nix Medical Center, located at 414 Navarro. This historical building has been a fixture of the San Antonio skyline since 1930, and houses primary care physicians, geriatricians and specialists, a medical/surgical hospital, imaging and radiology services, a lab, rehabilitation services, behavioral health services, the Nix Heart Center, a Sports Medicine Center, the Nix Weight Loss Surgery Center, a Wound Care Center, and many other ancillary services. “The Nix Medical Center has served the community for many years, attracting patients from all areas of San Antonio and South Texas.”
Nix Alamo Heights, located at 5307 Broadway, offers the surrounding community a convenient medical center with a broad range of health care providers. Strieby says, “With a strong base of primary care, coupled with many specialty physicians, including OB–Gyn, urology, neurology, neuro– surgery, pain medicine, orthopedics, and general surgery, the Nix Alamo Heights provides comprehensive medical care. We also offer physical, occupational and speech rehab services at this location, along with imaging and lab services, to meet the growing health care needs of this community.”
The Nix Specialty Health Center, located at 4330 Vance Jackson just outside Loop 410, offers comprehensive behavioral health services and inpatient physical rehab services, as well as home care. Dr. Robert Jimenez, Medical Director, adds, “The behavioral health services offered by the Nix Specialty Health Center fill a huge void in this city’s need for quality psychiatric medical care. In fact, our behavioral health center receives referrals from all over South Texas, due in no small part to the Nix’s commitment to quality care and integrative approach to meeting the medical needs of our patients.”
“Growing and changing to meet the medical needs of the communities we serve is one of the many challenges we face as health care providers,” Strieby comments. “The Nix maintains its reputation and continues to earn its quality achievement awards, while we grow, through the commitment and diligence of our medical staff.”
Dr. Rudy Zarate, who practices internal medicine in the Nix Medical Center, says Strieby is truly dedicated to the success and missionof the Nix. “That was one of the deciding factors in establishing our office here,” he says. “We wanted to be part of a facility where it was obvious that people like John care about what they are doing and about those around them.”
Dr. Joe Williams, Nix Medical Center Chief of Radiology, describes Strieby as the most physician–supportive hospital CEO he has ever worked with, and one who enables doctors within the Nix Health Care System to make the necessary critical decisions to optimize patient care.
“On a more personal note, Mr. Strieby had the confidence in me to install the first 40 slice CT system in any state west of the Mississippi,” Williams says. “That was back in 2004, and since then they have become standard in the medical community. But this is just one example of how Mr.Strieby leads. He has the courage to do things differently. And that’s what sets the Nix apart, and ultimately results in better patient care.”
Another challenge facing hospital systems is the city and state–wide nursing shortage. “We try to create an environment where nurses prefer to practice, and where they are empowered,” Strieby says. “We consider ourselves a nurse friendly hospital and in fact are working towards achieving that official designation. Everyone working at the Nix Health Care System, regardless of what capacity, recognizes the important role nursing provides.”
As the longest tenured CEO of any hospital in San Antonio, Mr. Strieby can look back upon many accomplishments. Instead, however, you will find him looking intently towards the future of the Nix Health Care System. “There is such a great opportunity in San Antonio to stand in the gap for patients when it comes to their health care needs. Too many people are settling for disjointed, fragmented care, and medical mistakes can happen in the hand off of that care. At the Nix, patients receive integrated care, no matter where they are in the continuum, whether it be medical, surgical, rehab, or behavioral health, our physicians work together to provide the best possible outcomes.”
When asked what the future holds for the Nix, Mr. Strieby replies without hesitation. “The Nix Health Care System is postured for continued growth. Our goal is to keep the focus on our patients, recruit new physicians to serve the growing community needs, and continue to expand our aggressive continuum of care by adding even more specialties. Cutting edge technology and patient focused care– the health care of the future is already here.”
