By Laura Freeman

A seismic shift in Birmingham’s healthcare market occurred last fall when Orlando Health offered to purchase Tenant’s 80 percent share of Baptist Health Systems, including five hospitals and related facilities. Now that the transition in leadership is well underway, how is the new culture and way of managing day to day operations affecting healthcare in central Alabama for patients and providers?

Thibaut van Marcke, president of the Alabama Region and vice president of Orlando Health, oversees operations in partnership with the Baptist Health System.

“When we were considering areas that might be a good fit for expansion, there were several factors that made Alabama a strong possibility,” van Marcke said. “First, the Birmingham area is known for excellence in medical research and care. It has the depth and breadth of expertise that will allow us to offer the top-tier quality of care we envision. As a nonprofit, we answer first to our patients.

“Geography was also a factor. While having similarities with our home base in Florida, central Alabama isn’t as subject to the risks from hurricanes as our hospitals near Orlando and in Puerto Rico are. That’s a plus for the security of the overall company.

“Most of all, we saw a great potential to take the system from where it currently was to where it could be. Several things had been on hold a while that could take the system to the next level with a little attention.”

When their offer was accepted, the new leadership set to work making reality match the identity they envisioned for Baptist Health.

“When people see the words ‘Baptist Health,’ we want them to expect the very best in quality health care,” van Marcke said. “The first step in meeting those expectations was addressing infrastructure. In some places, it could be as simple as fresh paint and new furnishings. Other areas might involve structural repairs or renovation of parking decks. Some fixtures needed to be replaced and some equipment needed to be updated to current standards. To tie it all together, we needed to replace signage throughout the system to achieve one unified image that would become immediately recognizable.”

With infrastructure renovations underway and a plan for future improvements in place, the next step was reaching out to providers who refer patients to the hospitals and perform procedures there.

“We wanted to leverage the strength and synergy of cobranding by partnering with providers who share our vision. That meant supporting them and doing whatever we could to see that they had the resources they need to deliver the best care they are capable of providing,” van Marcke said.

The new leadership also believes in the value of shared expertise. When Orlando Health was offering a seminar on new developments in cardiac care for primary physicians in the Orlando area, it brought in speakers from the Birmingham office of Baptist Health Cardiovascular Associates. When Birmingham hosts seminars here, it can call on experts from other facilities managed by the group.

Orlando Health believes in having accessible care in the communities they serve. “We support providers who are establishing offices in outlying communities so people don’t have to travel great distances to get state-of-the-art care,” van Marcke said. “Each community has subtle differences in culture, environment, work, socioeconomics and health habits. Different populations may have a different prevalence of some diseases or different customs related to families, aging and how they interact with the healthcare system. Providers who work with these patients are in a better position to understand local needs. We want to partner with them to give all our patients the best care possible near where they live.”

Access to care in local communities also improves the odds that patients will seek medical help earlier in the course of a condition when a good outcome is still possible and easier to achieve.

van Marcke sees a lot of work ahead in the next few years, along with exciting new plans that will be taking shape along the way. He has been very pleased with the response he has received from new colleagues, the hospitals and the community.

“Everyone has been so warm and welcoming,” he said. “When we explain what we want to achieve, people seem excited to be part of it.”

Founded more than a century ago, Orlando Health is a private, not-for-profit network of hospitals and health care facilities across central Florida, Puerto Rico and now Alabama.

Baptist Health in central Alabama includes the five hospitals along with numerous cobranded primary and specialty care facilities. Baptist Health Brookwood, Baptist Health Princeton, Baptist Health Shelby, Baptist Health Walker and Baptist Health Citizens Hospitals are all sharing the new Baptist Health signage that will soon become familiar across the area.