I saw an article recently in Modern Healthcare magazine that spoke about “Outpatient Outlook” and focused on subjects relating to outpatient care today. Some of the areas were the transition from inpatient procedures to outpatient procedures and patient safety. One quote really caught my eye. One of the panelists, Marty Bonick, President and CEO of Jewish Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky. Bonick coined the term “collapetition,” which he defined as collaborating and competing at the same time. It occurred to me that “collapetition” is happening in Mendocino County. You may have seen a copy of the magazine that it pictured in this post called “Life & Health” magazine. If you run across it, look at it closely. It actually promotes all 3 of our hospitals in Mendocino County. There are several fine articles in this publication which talk about subjects such as diabetes care, obstetrics, orthopedic joint replacement surgery and even has an article about the telemedicine robots that are now in use at all 3 hospitals in our County. All 3 hospitals realize that in order for the patient population of our entire county to achieve optimal health care, it is VERY IMPORTANT that all 3 hospitals survive. All 3 hospitals provide excellent quality services and deserve the support of their local populations. I am very proud to be a part of a hospital and medical community that supports the patronage of all our hospitals. They are our competitors, but also our collaborators. They are Mendocino Coast District Hospital, Frank R. Howard Memorial Hospital and Ukiah Valley Medical Center.
