Health official has goals of personalizing care

Last month CHRISTUS Health Shreveport-Bossier announced Isaac Palmer as the new interim chief operating officer. Palmer joined the CHRISTUS Louisiana leadership team in June and has lead several state-wide strategies for the three CHRISTUS hospitals in the state. As COO, Palmer is responsible for day to day operations of the hospital including strategic development, quality, safety, patient satisfaction, physician relations and the construction projects. Prior to his tenure at Alamonte, he was COO for the Heartland Division of the Adventists System, a three hospital system in Sebring, Fla., after spending four years as the CEO at Bolingbrook Hospital in Chicago.

The Forum sat down with Palmer to hear his goals, plans and thoughts on his new role for CHRISTUS.

Q. How do you think CHRISTUS is different from other hospitals?

Palmer: CHRISTUS has a unique commitment to serving the community which drives everything we do – this is our heritage, our tradition, the reason why the sisters opened clinics that eventually grew into the world class hospitals we operate today. But at the center are the community we serve, and the mission of extending the healing ministry of Jesus Christ that our associates embody every single day.

Q. In working with administration before Dr. William Lunn’s departure, how did they help you ease into this role?

Palmer: [They were] a tremendous help. There’s nothing like learning who does what and where before Day 1. And I was able to see if I liked the position before ever being asked to take it, ... and I’ll tell you, I fell in love with the people, my executive team, the medical staff and all the associates I met.

Q. As COO, what are your main goals for CHRISTUS?

Palmer: I want the communities of Shreveport-Bossier City to rely on CHRISTUS Health for quality, personalized care. I say ‘rely’ because that means you can count on it when you need it. That’s why we’re here.

Q. This has been a big year for CHRISTUS, how do you hope to build on that?

Palmer: This past year has been huge for CHRISTUS Health Shreveport-Bossier. In the last year, we opened the first satellite cancer clinic in Bossier, continued to fill the need of primary care physicians in this community with the addition of Dr. Donna Wyatt, Dr. Asha Kilaru, and most recently, Dr. Randy del Mundo. We also expanded our cardiology clinic to include many services that were previous housed inside the hospital which in turn helps our patients. We broke ground on the West Wing, and if you drive down Bert Kouns, you will see the steel going up. We fast-tracked the NICU to move to Highland this fall into its temporary home. I walked through the finished area this week, and I am very happy with how it turned out. It’s very modern, yet cozy and warm, something I think our NICU babies and families will really enjoy during their stay with us.

We are also opening the Specialty Care Center in November that will house the Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine Center, PET/CT, and our Breast Center. It is located next door to the Highland campus which provides easy access for our patients, but they don’t have to feel like they are going to the hospital for these clinic visits.

CHRISTUS Health Shreveport- Bossier is committed to reaching the growing areas of the community, and we plan to provide ambulatory services in both Shreveport and Bossier.

And, of course, next year we will open the West Wing which will house the NICU with an expanded Birth Place on the second floor; the inpatient rehab will occupy the third floor, and our Cancer Treatment Center will call the first floor home. We will also have a new hospital lobby and beautiful grounds for our patients to enjoy.

But that’s bricks and mortar. We launched new technology this year that allows patients to access their medial information from home. ‘Your CHRISTUS’ is the patient portal we provide all of our inpatients. Soon we will start sending the information to your physician’s office, so he or she will know about your entire visit before you show up for a follow-up appointment. We want to keep looking for innovative ways to deliver care while still providing the personalized care CHRISTUS is known for.

Q. In your career, you have lead several strategies, what do you hope to build for the Shreveport community?

Palmer: We all keep hearing that U.S. healthcare is expensive and the quality doesn’t stack up to other countries. We have to fix that and hospitals need to do their part. This is huge but our community demands it.

It will take our physicians, hospitals, outpatient centers and long-term care facilities working together for the patient. CHRISTUS Health will be a leader in this effort.

Q. Tell me about your background in healthcare?

Palmer: I have 17 years of experience in hospitals. I spent the majority of my career in Chicago (Go Bears!) running a free-standing emergency room. That position taught me most of what I know about leading, integrity and mission. We eventually grew the facility into a comprehensive 138-bed hospital, and I served as its first CEO.

That facility is Adventist Bolingbrook Hospital and I’m very proud of the team that built and operationalized that hospital. Great people.

Q. What drew you to Louisiana?

Palmer: I’m trying to figure that out! Prior to this year, I’ve only been to Louisiana once. I have a good friend of mine from college (I attended Oakwood University in Huntsville, Ala.) that grew up in Louisiana. When I told him I’d be interviewing in Shreveport he said, ‘Oh, you’ll love it.

Your kind of town!’ And so far, he’s been right. This is a good place.

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