72°
Geoff Teed knows something about making lemonade with life's lemons. After being diagnosed with cancer, this Easton resident experienced first-hand the bureaucracy and inefficiency of the healthcare industry.
"I was treated in some of the best hospitals in the country," Teed recalled. Even though he received quality treatment, he also experienced administrative headaches after long waits, delays, infections, complications and "wasted value." This left him thinking of ways to improve healthcare delivery.
Teed went to work, and what started out as a hospital consultancy blossomed into Paradigm Physician Partners LLC, or P3, which recently placed a $52 million bid to buy Hoboken University Medical Center in New Jersey.
"We are attempting to bring a model to Hoboken, to buy a failing hospital and turn it into a model of clinical excellence," he said.
The Hoboken hospital would be the first turnaround purchase for P3. The team's model was adopted by Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford Springs, Conn., and used by its leadership to exit Chapter 11.
Now he's ready to streamline Hoboken's administrative practices and create a profit-making operation all without the loss of a single job.
"We won't cut staff," Teed asserts. "In fact, we'd rather have organizational slack and focus on creating innovation than cut [full-time employees]. The business case for it is that when you walk into a hospital, you find 30 percent [of the unnecessary expenses] hidden in plain sight. Once you find that, you can turn around a hospital."
Teed's approach brings together the community, health services and various stakeholders to "create a superior heath care system that achieves world's best patient outcomes," states the P3 website.
The Hoboken hospital presents a unique challenge for Teed's team. The city government took out a $52 million bond to keep the hospital running after it nearly closed several years ago, but mismanagement has plagued the venture ever since.
P3 hopes to buy the hospital and install Dr. William Bithoney as CEO. Bithoney helped turn a Massachusetts operation into the most profitable hospital in the state, Teed said.
His business plan is completely open, and he hopes to partner with national "thought leaders" to establish a system for hospitals that will benefit everyone. With the Hoboken hospital within arms reach, his vision seems that much closer to reality.
What do you think about hospitals in
Southern Fairfield County. Is there one where you had a particularly good experience or a particularly bad experience? Tell us your thoughts in the comment box below.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Westport and receive free news updates.
