In his first year as Lakeway Regional Medical Center CEO, Philippe Bochaton has strived to make the facility a destination hospital, with an emphasis on expanding its specialty programs such as the spine, brain and stroke programs, he said.

“I think we’ve assembled a great team of professionals,” Bochaton said. “We pushed the bar, met it, and pushed it again higher.”

Expanding spine and brain programs

There are eight spine surgeons on the LRMC campus, making the Center for Spinal Disorders one of the largest programs offered by the hospital, Bochaton said.

“We aren’t stopping there,” he said. “[We are getting] a growing number of brain cases.”

Bochaton said one of the ways the hospital ensures a high level of patient care for complicated cases, such as brain and spine disorders, is by assembling multidisciplinary groups of physicians to discuss treatment plans.

“This hospital is unique because there is so much collaboration between the physicians and the administrative team,” LRMC Director of Marketing  Christin Cross said.

LRMC attracts new physicians by investing in technology such as the da Vinci Surgical System, he said.

The da Vinci Surgical System allows surgeons to perform operations through small incisions, LRMC Chief of Surgery Andy Hawthorne said.

The advancement of its joint replacement and cardiology programs will enable LRMC to become a destination hospital, Bochaton said. Two new cardiologists are joining LRMC in January, he said.

“We are working on attracting physicians with joint-replacement experience and other multidisciplinary [physicians],” Bochaton said.

Stroke care

The hospital received a Primary Stroke Certification in December after an on-site evaluation by the Joint Commission, a health care accrediting organization. In order to qualify for this designation, LRMC was evaluated on an array of hospital programs—including neurological physicians and neurosurgeons, and radiological, critical care, medical nursing and therapy services.

“This [certification] is important because strokes are the third leading cause of death [in the United States],” Bochaton said. “Time is of the essence, and proximity [to care] is important with stroke cases.”

Lakeway Medical Village

As LRMC expands its programs, the Lakeway Medical Village—which includes LRMC (in graphic)  medical office space, likely two hotels, The Goddard School preschool and The Harbor at Lakeway, an assisted-living community—continues to develop on the grounds in front of the hospital.

There is natural synergy among all of the health care users on the campus, such as assisted-living facilities that need to admit their patients to the hospital, said Joel Canfield, vice president of business development at KGP Holdings, which is developing Lakeway Medical Village.

The project’s development is ongoing, with a Marriott Springhill Suites hotel confirmed as a tenant and a second hotel likely, he said. Hotels located in the medical village will offer a convenient place for individuals visiting LRMC patients to stay as well as needed lodging options for the Lakeway community, he said.

LRMC may open additional surgical space in the Lakeway Medical Village, Canfield said.

Interest in the medical village has increased since  MedEquities Realty Trust Inc. assumed hospital ownership in February 2015, he said.

“I think a lot of people were waiting to see what would happen when the hospital opened,” Canfield said. “When ownership changed, I think it gave a sense of finality. We are very enthusiastic about Philippe and his team and couldn’t be more thrilled with what they are doing on the campus.”

Bochaton said the hospital and surrounding organizations have a unique opportunity to establish symbiotic relationships with each other, and their close proximity will allow physicians to send patients to LRMC rather than farther away from home.

“We talk about [the] patient experience and our commitment to our patients,” Bochaton said. “It’s also a journey to provide the best campus and training to our doctors and nurses.”

The Lakeway Medical Village includes Lakeway Regional Medical Center, The Goddard School, Marriott Springhill Suites and The Harbor at Lakeway. The development is owned by KGP Holdings, with more tenants to be announced.[/caption]