HJAR Sep/Oct 2019

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS I  SEP / OCT 2019 15 quality, and value-based care. The program is designed to grant employees of participat- ing businesses, including Walmart, access to the highest quality care and health plan innovation in the United States. Walmart, which is the nation’s largest employer with more than 1 million employees, now has health system partners in approximately 18 cities across the country, but we are the first Center of Excellence in their home state of Arkansas. We’re certainly in good company with the other sites, such as Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Geisinger Health System, Johns Hopkins, and Memorial Hermann. We are also proud of Northwest Health Physicians’ Specialty Hospital, which is the official medical provider for the University of Arkansas Razorbacks. Since we partner with physicians as part-owners of this hos- pital, we are especially proud of the service provided to these student athletes, who are recognized on the national stage as part of the Southeastern Conference. The South, as you know, recognizes sports as an impor- tant part of our region, and we are proud of our Razorbacks. Editor Are patients going to Little Rock for healthcare? Is keeping them close to home a goal? Park Because of the increasing awareness of Northwest Health’s connection to the Mayo Clinic Care Network, we are actually hav- ing patients reach out to us from outlying areas who may have previously chosen to go to larger cities, like Little Rock. That was one of our goals with this collaboration—to provide world-class care closer to home. Among the benefits of our being part of the Mayo Clinic Care Network that are keeping people in, and even drawing them to North- west Arkansas are: • Access to Mayo Clinic’s world renowned expertise for additional peace of mind • Physicians connecting on care at no additional cost to patients • More patients staying home and avoid- ing unnecessary travel for answers to complex medical questions One of the most well-received benefits for our patients is the free second opinion (or eConsult) they can receive from a Mayo Clinic physician if they are seeing one of our physicians. This means they don’t have to travel to Mayo Clinic or incur any addi- tional cost. We have seen patients from our region transferred to Little Rock for specific needs and work with the providers in Little Rock to have the best transition possible. We will continue to pursue specialists to allow as many patients as possible to stay local. One example we are very proud of is our NICU services. Willow Creek Women’s Hospital has been aggressively pursuing Level IIIB NICU status. After putting all the elements in place, we are now taking care of much younger micro preemies. This allows the mom, baby, and family the opportunity to stay together instead of being separated by a three-and-a-half hour drive. This keeps families together at one of their most vul- nerable and difficult times, and closer to their entire support structure. Better health- care close to home is always our goal. Editor What is the value of the Mayo Clinic Care network, and specifically, how does it work? Park As part of the Mayo Clinic Care Net- work, Northwest Health’s physicians and their patients now have access to the most advanced medical knowledge and research in the world. The best care available is right here at home for people in Northwest Arkansas. Our doctors and providers in the Northwest Health system are exceptional at what they do. On those rare occasions when a really unique disease or condition comes up, they can reach out to a group that deals with it more frequently. Editor What is your leadership style? Park Like so many people who work in healthcare, I see my position as a calling, not a job. I believe I have a very collabora- tive approach, with a focus on developing relationships. Community involvement is very important to me, and I am pleased that we have significantly increased our com- munity presence in the last year. I want to be involved in everything, but try not to micromanage. I hope people see me as a resource to help move initiatives forward. We have an exceptional group of leaders at Northwest Health who are always working to make the patient experience better, while improving the care that we provide them. I “Achieving the right balance is themost significant challenge for every health care leader. Wemust have an uncompromised focus on quality.”