Friday, September 27th was a momentous day for Unity Medical Center in Manchester. The hospital’s new board of directors held its first meeting since transitioning to a not-for-profit hospital in July.
“Members of our new board of directors are committed to strengthening
healthcare in our community and together we have a great vision for moving our local hospital forward,” stated Martha McCormick, CEO of Unity Medical Center.
Members of the newly-formed board of directors are Leslie Trussler, DPT, MS, CSCS,, Kim Roberts, PharmD, Pastor Jerry Pullum, Ashoke “Bappa” Mukherji, Mike Niederhauser, Eric Burch, James Van Winkle, MD, Dr. Joey Vaughn and
McCormick, MHA,CHC.
“We have an eclectic mix of community leaders, intelligent and informed business people and medical experts on our board,” stated McCormick. “I look forward to working with them to improve healthcare for our residents.”
Unity Medical Center officially converted to a not-for-profit hospital in July in order
to expand the breadth of medical services that it can offer. Previously, the
hospital was a physician-owned facility. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) restricted
the ability of physician-owned hospitals to add new service lines.
New services that Unity plans to implement in the coming months include
inpatient medical detox and opening an intensive care unit (ICU). Another
planned service is the use of telemedicine through a partnership with TriStar
Centennial that will allow for patients at Unity Medical Center to be examined by
specialists at other hospitals remotely using a robot.
“We are honored that TriStar chose Unity to be the hospital to launch its tele-cardiology service,” said McCormick. “We have a four-bed ICU unit that was not in active use in 2010 so we have not been allowed to reopen it due to restrictions contained in the ACA. Reopening the unit will enable us to take care of more acute patients in Manchester, closer to their homes and families,” said Mukherji, Chairman of the Board.
In addition to adding services, Unity will be eligible for grants reserved for non-
profits.
“We will qualify for additional grants, specifically to recruit physicians, and
we will also be eligible for some student loan-forgiveness programs for workers
moving to rural healthcare settings,” explained McCormick.
Unity Medical Center is a 49-bed acute care hospital located at 481 Interstate
Drive in Manchester that operates two rural health clinics employing over 40
medical providers. The hospital can be reached by phone at 931-728-6354.
