As a health care administrator for the past 30 years, John Sheehan has thought long and hard about patient care best practices. But when his wife, Amy, died suddenly in her sleep last year after a struggle with brain cancer, Sheehan’s longtime advocacy for patients turned into a passion.
A senior vice president at UW Hospital and Clinics and the president of the soon-to-be-unveiled UW Health at the American Center facility, Sheehan saw Amy fight the effects of type 1 diabetes for years before she underwent a kidney transplant. Later, when she was diagnosed with cancer, the Sheehans moved back to Dane County — where John was raised — in part to take advantage of the world-class care offered by UW Health.
A year and a half ago, Sheehan joined UW Health’s executive team, and he’s drawn on his professional experience and personal commitment in order to help launch UW Health at the American Center, an innovative new facility that promises to be a model for patient- and family-centered care. Located in The American Center business park on Madison’s far east side, the $220 million, 494,000-square-foot facility is set for an Aug. 17 debut.
| “In many respects my work now is to get this new hospital up and running in a fashion that the community will be proud of, but in particular for me, that my wife will be proud of.” — John Sheehan, president, UW Health at the American Center |
According to Sheehan, the facility’s late-summer launch will be the culmination of a great deal of planning and thought focused on what makes for the best possible patient experience.
“Working in the field but also seeing someone like Amy go through a lot of hospitalizations, a lot of changes in her health care, I think that gave new meaning to my work, and making sure that we really get the health care we’d like our loved ones to receive,” said Sheehan. “[We need to ensure] that we communicate well, reduce the fragmentation, and engage patients and family members in their care, and to me that’s what this facility is all about.
“Patient and family advisors were part of the design process, and they continue to help me operationalize the facility — and in many respects my work now is to get this new hospital up and running in a fashion that the community will be proud of, but in particular for me, that my wife will be proud of.”
What makes UW Health at the American Center unique, says Sheehan, is the emphasis on engaging patients in their own care, while also ensuring that doctors and nurses are engaged with their patients.
Sheehan said the new facility emphasizes teamwork and “breaking down the traditional silos that exist within hospitals, and really demonstrating to the patients and families that we’re working together as a team.”
In part, that means being better organized as a staff. For instance, the hospital is planning on using radiofrequency technology to track the flow of hospital staff and patients throughout the facility. That technology, says Sheehan, will allow the hospital to do away with bottlenecks and minimize wait times, ensuring that patients are getting the personal attention they need.
It’s all about flipping the script so that the delivery of care is focused more on patients’ needs.
“We’re really trying to set the processes up, the work flows so that as much as possible the patient is not moving around, that services are pulled to them rather than them going to services,” said Sheehan. “We’re really looking at wait times more carefully. If you’ve been in a hospital or you’ve gone to a clinic appointment, that’s when things get frustrating in terms of the patient waiting and not knowing why they’re waiting. So we’re really trying to address the processes so that there’s minimal waiting for the patients.”
The patient’s perspective
Sheehan also draws inspiration from his daughter, Mary, 21, who suffers from Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a progressive neurological disorder that affects her hands and feet. His daughter’s condition has given him even more reason to be an advocate for patients through his work at UW Health.
“I’m very proud of how she’s dealt with those things, but she’s been through a lot as well, and I think that it just kind of gives me more energy and enthusiasm to continue to improve the way health care is delivered in my little world, and be dedicated to making sure that we’re doing our best with our patients and families.”
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Having loved ones who have spent a lot of time in the health care system no doubt helps Sheehan see the world through the eyes of patients, but he and his team also relied on the input of formal patient and family advisors, who have helped refine the facility’s offerings throughout the planning process.
“They really looked at things like patient safety issues,” said Sheehan. “So what are some of the things they see as helpful in the rooms? So, for example, we’ve put guardrails from the bedside all the way into the bathroom, in the shower area. So they were really able to help us look at things and what keeps patients safe, and that was very helpful in the design of the process.
“I think they also are able to ask questions from a different perspective to make sure that we’re thinking about things, kind of looking through the patient’s eyes. … In the end, they’re really looking out for what works best for patients. And they’ve helped us think through a number of details, not only as we designed the facility but then also as we look through practicing our workflows, simple things like how the room is set up, where families can go for certain things, how they can get information.”
The facility also includes some features that might seem out of place in a traditional hospital, including a meditation room as well as a large wellness center that includes a demonstration kitchen, lap and therapeutic pools, a three-lane elevated sprint track, and a full-sized replica of the Kohl Center’s basketball court.
“I think UW Health has always had a perspective of being innovative and trying new things because of its academic and research missions,” said Sheehan. “From my perspective, there are some things that are very cutting edge in terms of what we’re trying to do with the facility — our sports performance and wellness center, some of the things I mentioned in terms of technology, how we serve some of the patients using telemedicine services.
“Those are things that are more on the cutting edge of what academic medical centers and other community hospitals are doing. Also trying to get the patient at the right place at the right time with a lower cost, that’s key in health care today.”
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