MMH celebrates 10 years on East Johnson
Ten years has gone by in a flash, but one-tenth of Holyoke’s entire hospital history has now taken place in the new Melissa Memorial Hospital facility. 2018 marks both the 10th anniversary of the East Johnson Street location of MMH and the 100th anniversary of Holyoke’s first hospital. In both cases, things have come a long way.
On Thursday, Feb. 8, the community is invited to an open house at MMH from 4:30-5:30 p.m. to see just how much the hospital has changed in the last decade.
In the first few years after the 2008 move, there weren’t many changes, Steve Young said. He was the hospital board president at the time of the move and continues to serve in that role to this day. When a hospital has a brand-new facility, he explained, there’s not much to immediately improve on.
It didn’t take long for the changes to begin, though. Even by the end of 2008, the board began to discuss ways to meet Holyoke’s mammography needs. In February 2011, the MMH Foundation held its first Legacy Event. The theme was Mardi Gras, and the fundraiser netted about $40,000. A portion of that money went toward the mammography project, and in January 2012, the hospital unveiled its new digital mammography room.
Since then, the Legacy Event has become a fixture on the local yearly calendar. In fact, this year’s Broadway-themed fundraiser falls right around the same time as the hospital’s anniversary. On Saturday, Feb. 10, supporters for the hospital will gather again for the eighth annual Legacy Event.
Each year, the money raised by MMHF supports such things as the MMHF legacy scholarship and hospital projects. Recently, it was a major expansion to the facility that received Legacy Event funds.
By September 2016, the expansion was complete, adding a new storage shed, enclosed ambulance drop-off and employee housing. A new laboratory entrance was also added, as well as a clinic addition and a retail pharmacy. That expansion gave MMH a lot of room to grow, CEO Trampas Hutches noted.
With the addition to the clinic came an accomplishment Hutches was particularly proud of. In line with the goal to create access for everyone in the community, they’re aiming to provide increased access for Holyoke’s Hispanic population. Compared to 2016 numbers, the clinic saw nearly four times the number of Hispanic patients in 2017.
The new pharmacy has also been hugely successful, as well as the EMT service. Response times are down, as are missed ambulance transfers, and calls for service are up. Volume has increased 40 percent at the MMH specialty clinics and tripled for surgical services. The scope of surgeries offered has also increased. The first in-house hip replacement in September 2016 has been followed by additional orthopedic surgeries.
The May 2017 addition of Holyoke Family Eye Care at the hospital means residents can have their vision needs met locally, too.
Of course there have been challenges and ups and downs in the last 10 years, Young said, but MMH has done a fine job of consistently providing health care to the community. As a whole, MMH is now a $24 million organization, compared to being at $14 million just two years ago.
The facility is part of what makes such strides possible, but it would be nothing without the staff, Hutches pointed out. MMH is looking forward to the next 10 years in their building and to the next 100 years as an organization, and that depends entirely on the people.
MMH always looking to the future
Despite all the growth and improvements, the hospital is “not satisfied.” MMH is doing very well, Hutches said, but there are still ways to be better, and that’s what he’s striving for now. Patient satisfaction and employee engagement have been high, but they can be higher. Likewise, the already low employee turnover numbers could be better, too.
In the near future, MMH intends to come up with a master community plan to outline how best to utilize the land the hospital owns. Hutches envisions MMH as a health care hub, not just for Holyoke but for the region. That goes beyond the traditional hospital, Hutches explained, and might include such things as senior housing, assisted living or long-term care. Already in the works is the Holyoke Child Care Initiative, which Hutches said is near and dear to MMH.
The driving force behind the hospital’s growth has been and continues to be identifying services the community needs and figuring out what makes sense for them to offer.
Right now, there are 44 eyes ready for cataract surgery at MMH. In the dental realm, they have a long-term goal of hiring a full-time dentist. MMH will also be starting local chemotherapy again. Holyoke residents leave 3,500 times a year to receive chemotherapy elsewhere, Hutches said. That’s a need that can be met in-house.
The hospital’s goal is for people to be able to get the care they need in Holyoke and not have to leave the community. Taking that a step further, Hutches said the hospital has seen people from out of town come to MMH specifically for their staff. He’d like to see more of that happening.
Another area MMH is looking to address is community paramedicine, which would allow paramedics and emergency medical technicians to perform such things as home visits and welfare checks. It’s something that can help underserved populations.
MMH has a facility and offers services that not many rural hospitals can claim. Hutches expressed his gratitude for a community that supports its hospital and makes its continued growth possible.