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Visiting the Boston Medical Center

Touring the Boston Medical Center yesterday, what stood out most was the human dimension in the delivery of care that is not easily understood through statistics. While it was impressive that more than 130,000 patients a year are seen in the emergency room, or that 1,600 families a month depend on the food pantry, or that more than 400 prescriptions a month are filled in the free pharmacy – many for chronic diseases, it is only in seeing the experiences that patients and providers go through that one can paint a complete picture of the work done at the BMC. It is a vital organ of the community, which provides preventative solutions in addition to world-class medical care it provides to patients, many of whom are socio-economically disadvantaged and would not otherwise have access to such care. Elaine Ullian and other leaders at the BMC referred to it as a safety net hospital, and this speaks to the vital role that such institutions play in communities. In addition to the local community, the BMC also serves the greater Boston area, with one of the few on-ground helipads to receive trauma patients who need to be flown in.

The importance of healthcare is clear to all Americans, but while it is a debate about policy and budget to leaders who are making difficult policy and budget decisions, visiting the Boston Medical Facility made it clear that it is much more than this to the families who are impacted by these decisions. The staff at Boston Medical Center are dedicated to delivering a comprehensive care to their patients, taking careful measure and making process improvements from reception to discharge. The wait times of patients visiting the ER, the time to clean an examination room to get it ready for the next patient, and many other tasks are well measured and refined. And beyond the measured improvements, the Boston Medical Center engages in initiatives that are preventative in order to minimize the occurrence of any future medical crises. Patients receive food with nutritional and dietary guidance, medicine, and even winter coats that are needed from pantries that the Boston Medical Center fundraises and seeks donations for independently. There is wisdom in the approach of preventative intervention, which I believe comes from the experiences of these professionals and also from their calling to care for others. It was evident to me that the BMC staff were diligent and happy in carrying out their work.

The innovations and solutions for healthcare we are developing must support and allow health care professionals to contribute as well as they are inspired to and should not hinder the delivery of improved experiences and better outcomes for patients. The improvement of the quality of care and the reduction of the costs of health care do not have to come at the expense of the experience of patients or hinder the desire of professionals to deliver what they understand can best help their patients.

With the necessary changes coming to the delivery of health care, the overriding goal must remain the quality and experience of care delivered to patients, and supporting those on the front lines of delivering this care, our health care professionals.

I am 5 foot, 11.75 inches tall; I enjoy helping clients and people I work with to achieve their objectives; believe that technology is a great enabler for the improved delivery of health care in the world, as it can be for so many other things.