Gibson Area Hospital & Health Services | Gibson gets it! | Fall/Winter 2018

Gibson gets it! 15 Why I choose Gibson When Gary McCullough—longtime Gibson City resident, voice of Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley High School, and owner and general manager of WGCY Radio—faced a recent health incident, he turned to Gibson Area Hospital. Reflecting on his experience, the local radio personality shared this observation: “They do a tremendous job up there at the hospital. The nurses and doctors in the emergency department knew exactly what to do for me. I probably wouldn’t be here right now if it wasn’t for them. The ER saved my life and got me to the care I needed.” care magazine Growing fast and fearlessly Fueling its growth was a medical team who understood the needs of their patients. “They’re the ones who say, “Hey, we should have this service. Let’s recruit this specialty. Let’s put a clinic in this community.’” That entrepreneurial mindset has led to a network of 27 primary care and specialty clinics across Gibson’s service area and a rich menu of patient education and community outreach programs, from running a food pantry to supporting field trips in the local schools. In each area, the process of expanding the hospital’s footprint followed a pattern: Start small; grow fast and fearlessly. Take Elite Performance, the hospital’s fitness program. Begun in the basement of the hospital’s physical therapy area for a handful of athletes, it has expanded to four locations open to anyone in the community. The key, says Schmitt, is that participants must set a goal, whether losing weight or running a 5K, and work with a trainer to reach it. “If we’re really going to be held responsible for making sure everybody’s healthy,” says Schmitt, “and that’s what eventually we’re going to get paid for, then you’re going to have some kind of service like this.” It’s no surprise that Gibson Area Hospital has become the largest employer in the county, with an annual economic benefit for the region of approximately $200 million. “That’s big money for everybody—all the services and businesses we support, all the communities that we employ people in,” says Schmitt. “I’m just a big believer in supporting the community core.” Good medicine for patients And that, perhaps, is the single most important lesson small, rural hospitals offer large hospitals and health systems as the industry feels its way forward: Caring for communities is good medicine for patients. “I grew up in a very small town. I’m a rural person at heart,” says Schmitt. “I get that everybody supports everybody else.” Author Gale Pryor is senior editor of athenaInsight .