Declaring that the “state of health care in Cullman is excellent,” Dr. William Smith, chief medical officer of Cullman Regional, expanded on the medical center’s new services and facilities during a Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce community luncheon, Feb. 18.

COVID-19

With the COVID-19 pandemic still a significant health threat, Smith said that advance actions have positioned Cullman County to better react to variations of the disease.

“It’s a little different disease than it was a year ago, and everybody’s getting tired of COVID,” Smith said. “But from the beginning, we were very proactive in leading our response in reaction to the pandemic. We purchased additional ventilators, and rented additional ventilators, and always managed to stay a step ahead of our needs. We were never without ventilators or the equipment needed.

“We were one of the first sites in the state to provide monoclonal antibody infusions. That was a tremendous asset in helping people out of the hospital and out of the intensive care unit.”

Advanced planning also placed Cullman Regional as one of the earliest adopters in the state for a vaccine regimen, Smith said.

“We were one of 13 hospitals in Alabama to first get the vaccine,” he said. “It was the Pfizer vaccine, and that has to be kept frozen. Our team was one of the few that had the foresight to purchase the needed ultra-cold freezer before we ever knew a vaccine would be available.”

Still, Smith noted that the medical facility has had more than 1,500 COVID admissions, and “close to 300 deaths,” but said that as a facility and community, “we are in a much better place than a year ago.”

With a vaccination rate among providers at the facility above 95 percent, Smith noted that the pandemic is being taken “very serious,” although, “It’s been hard to overcome the inherent mistrust (on some in the general population) that everybody understands. But our people have embraced (new) technologies.They’ve seen what the downside is in not being proactive.”

Through the pandemic, Cullman Regional has administered more than 37,000 vaccines and 2,272 monoclonal antibody infusions.

“All told ,we’ve come through to this point in the pandemic, well,” Smith said. “I think COVID is always going to be with us to some extent, but where we are now is much more tolerable than with the Delta surge in the past.”

New equipment

“Cullman Regional’s response to quality is not just in the area of COVID,” Smith said. “We’ve added a lot of new equipment to the hospital over the past couple of years.”

Highlighting the non-invasive and zero exposure radiation BrainScope, Smith said that the new technology has reduced the need for CT scans by 30 percent. The machine, which can assess patients for brain bleeds and concussions without exposure to radiation, is especially useful during football season for athletes who might experience multiple brain injuries.

“I understand we are the only hospital in Alabama currently using it,” Smith said.

Other new equipment at the facility includes advanced imaging technology machines, a Mako robotic-arm assisted system to aid orthopedic surgeons, a Da Vinci robotic surgery system using minimally invasive technology in the areas of gynecology, urology, thoracic and general surgeries, and a 3D mammography to improve diagnostic accuracy. 

Centers of Excellence

Cullman Regional also established two Centers of Excellence in 2021 to improve local health care, Smith said.

One center, based on orthopedics and spine, advances needs for complicated surgeries and testing; and the other, a bariatric center, enhances the outcome for successful weight-loss surgery.

Financial heath

While other rural hospital systems are in poor economic shape, Smith said that Cullman Regional is not only sound profitably, but able to give back because of that position.

“Eighty percent of rural Alabama hospitals currently have a negative operating margin,” Smith said, “and while recently 14 Alabama hospitals have closed, we at Cullman Regional have posted a positive operating margin over the past seven years.

“That really created the financial strength that allowed us to provide over $1.7 million in charity care. We’ve invested over $90 million in hospital facilities and have had more than $300 million in local economic impact.” 

Expanding facilities

Part of that investment will be in the medical facility’s emergency room upgrades, Smith said.

“Our facilities expansion enhances our service expansion,” he said.

Cullman Regional’s ER expansion project is scheduled to be complete this summer and will increase the department’s capacity by 80 percent. A second expansion project broke ground in January, and that will increase bed capacity from 145 to 175, including 13 new critical care unit beds.