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68 | M A C O N M A G A Z I N E A U G U S T / S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 7 COLISEUM HEALTH SYSTEM Stephen J Daugherty, Chief Executive Officer Coliseum Medical Centers, 350 Hospital Drive Coliseum Northside Hospital, 400 Charter Boulevard (478) 765-4100 | ColiseumHealthSystem.com | How has Coliseum Health System changed over the last five years? We have focused our efforts and strategies around our health system rather than two independent hospitals to expand the services we offer, improve the quality of care, increase access to care and provide an enhanced patient experience. Our mission statement, "Above all else, we are committed to the care and improvement of human life," is at the center of our strategic planning and drives the decisions we make for our community. Under your new leadership, what changes and growth would you like to see over the next five years? Our graduate medical education program in partnership with Mercer University will be transformational for our health system. Coliseum Medical Centers will be the home to at least five new residencies and Coliseum Northside Hospital will serve as a clinical rotation site for third- and fourth-year medical students from Mercer. As a teaching facility, we also will be expanding into research and clinical trials providing access to services that may have only been available in a larger city such as Atlanta. Technology will continue to drive innovation across our health system in the form of robotics, telemedicine and electronic health records to improve the continuity of care as our patients move through an integrated healthcare delivery system. We see specific opportunities for growth in trauma, neurosciences, orthopedics, general surgery, vascular surgery, cardiovascular services and behavioral health. One very exciting thing going on is the new relationship with Mercer's medical school. Why is that good for the community and how will that affect patients and staff? The CHS/Mercer partnership provides Georgia residents the ability to complete undergraduate, medical school and post-graduate training in Middle Georgia where studies show 70 percent of physicians stay in the geographical area they are trained. This helps to meet current and future demands of our community for healthcare. It will provide improved access to care as a safety net for the medically underserved through our outpatient clinic with Community Healthcare Systems, a federally qualified health clinic. Our faculty and medical residents will provide care through this clinic as part of their training to meet essential primary and preventative healthcare needs of our community. The impact on our hospital and staff will be through the overall improvement in the quality of care. Physicians who teach learn while they teach and that will drive improvements in patient care. The expansion of continuing medical education and research associated with the program also will drive improvements in the delivery of care by our physicians, nurses and technicians. This is truly a transformational time for Coliseum Health System.