Case Study
The opening of Bucks County Specialty Hospital in 2009 in Bensalem, Penn., evokes the difference that experience and expertise of a corporate partner can bring to the success of a physician-owned hospital. Nueterra successfully opened the hospital in less than 60 days following the closing of the syndication and signing of the lease.
Bucks County Specialty Hospital officially opened in September 2009 in a facility that had closed earlier in the year. A large orthopedic group that Nueterra had partnered with previously, the Rothman Institute, saw a tremendous opportunity to expand its market presence in the northeastern suburbs of Philadelphia. However, with the threat of federal legislation that would ban or restrict physician ownership, the hospital would need to be reopened quickly.
As a willing partner, the Nueterra Healthcare team established an aggressive and almost unheard of timeline for resyndicating and reopening the hospital. The typical 12-18 month hospital development timeline was reduced to six months:
resyndication was completed in three months, culminating in the closing of the syndication and signing of the lease in late July- state inspections took place in mid-September
- the first case was performed in late September
- a final CMS inspection occurred at the end of September.
To meet the challenge of a compressed timeline, Nueterra significantly increased its typical staffing level for a project in development. Some employees were on site for virtually the entire development process, and they were supported by a corporate staff that rapidly developed bylaws, policies and procedures, and the processes needed to pass state licensing and CMS certification.
Flexibility and expertise were the keys to the success of the fast-track development process. The entire Nueterra team accepted the challenge of reopening a hospital in less than 60 days and committed to ensuring the project was a success.
With the hospital now open, Nueterra is now focused on growing the facility through the recruitment of additional physicians and the addition of ancillary services. The goal of both Nueterra and Rothman is to make Bucks County Specialty Hospital a center of excellence for surgical care in Pennsylvania.