Branstetter takes hospital reigns

If there is local guy with a reputation for turning around health care institutions that would be Steve Branstetter.

Having turned around a group of struggling MedicaLodges followed by Moore-Few and Barone Alzheimer’s Nursing Care Centers, on March 1 he began his latest challenge of turning around Nevada Regional Medical Center by taking the job as its chief executive officer.

Stating he always carefully examines the financial condition of a facility before agreeing to try to turn it around he said he did the same with NRMC.

“If I didn’t think this hospital could be turned around I wouldn’t have taken the job,” said Branstetter. “I’m not going away nor is this hospital.”

Asked if this can be done quickly he said it would be like the turn arounds he has accomplished at other facilities, “It takes time and a lot of baby steps but it will happen.”

Born in northeast Missouri, in Vandalia, Branstetter was raised in the St. Louis area, graduating from Hazelwood Central High School in 1976.

Four years later he earned his bachelor of science degree in therapeutic recreation at what is now Missouri State in Springfield, later earning a master's degree in the same field from Pittsburg State.

In 1992 he took a position in adjunctive therapy at Heartland Behavioral Health Services in Nevada and later became a lower level administrator with some 100 residents.

“That was the heyday of Heartland when we had the rope course, trust games, music and horse therapy,” said Branstetter. “By finding something that interested the kids, they gained skills, learned to work with others and caused a lot fewer problems.”

After seven years he was casting about for what to do next when a friend encouraged him to earn his nursing home administrator’s license, which he did.

“In 1999, I became administrator of Nevada Manor; it’s now MedicaLodges of Nevada,” said Branstetter. “I’m a big believer in having a good mentor. I had one when I was there and it made all the difference there and in my career.”

Branstetter left and worked for 18 months at Benton Hall, then part of the state’s habilitation center and soon became the unit supervisor. When MedicaLodges opened their Nevada facility on March 1, 2004, Branstetter was administrator.

He was soon promoted to being manager of a 10-facility region and a senior regional vice-president.

“I always like a challenge and working with great people and I had that in that job but I got tired of the road,” said Branstetter.

His wife encouraged him to take the position at Moore-Few and “I figured I'd retire from that job. I really enjoy the work and the people I work with. They made me look good,” he said.

While his wife Kathy was a high school classmate, they got to know each other in college; they married in June, 1981. She retired as a vice-president at U.S. Bank Mortgage in Nevada to take care of her mother who had transitioned into becoming a resident at Moore-Few.

The Branstetters have a son who is an eye doctor in St. Louis and a daughter who is an attorney and has a Master of Business Administration degree.

“And every morning I’m walked by my two dogs, a Boston Terrier and a pug.”

At work he often spends a bit of morning time with the hospital’s controller, Dana White, looking at the current accounts payable and receivable.

“That’s one of the reasons I’m here,” he said. “My job is to get the cash-on-hand to where it needs to be.”

Stating he does have an overall roadmap for the turnaround, he said it includes getting the Behavioral Health Unit fully staffed with providers.

He said, “When I was in behavioral health a typical stay was seven to 10 days but now it’s one to three days so you have to have staff available for all those admissions and discharges and so we’re trying to put together that team of people.”

Eventually he would like to see that facility have what Barone has today, a waiting list.

The other piece he is working on is having a second general surgeon.

While arrangements in these areas are not yet ready for announcement, he said good things actually are in the works.

He emphasized that any reports about the hospital “liquidating” are not accurate and that he and the Freeman Health System management team are following the course to continue improvements and complete the turnaround of NRMC’s finances.

“Paula Baker (Freeman CEO), Steve Graddy (Freeman’s chief financial officer and interim CFO at NRMC) and others have been really great to work with,” said Branstetter. “They’ve had their share of big struggles over the years and got through them and are committed to helping us do the same.”

Reporting on various other issues he mentioned the hospital’s Sole Community Provider status application has cleared the first hurdles and is now in the hands of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid.

With the closure of Mercy Hospital in Fort Scott, NRMC became the only hospital of its class within 25 to 35 miles and meets other criteria. The hospital’s auditor estimates this status will annually mean higher payments for both inpatient and outpatient services totaling $829,539.

“It could be six months but we hope to hear something by the end of summer,” said Branstetter.

There was a period of time when the hospital had a shortage of applicants for nurse and certified nurse assistant positions but these have increased and he was delighted to report that key employment positions have been filled.

“I think the management team’s pretty much in place,” said the CEO.

This led Branstetter to recite a favorite phrase of his, “build your people, build your team.”

“I believe in cross-training your people and identifying folks and building their skills so you can” – and here's another favorite phrase of his – “'grow your own' so that when there’s a vacancy, you have the next person ready within your organization,” said Branstetter.

He initiated a popular policy at Moore-Few and Barone of throwing a party and making cash payments to every staff member if the annual state inspection resulted in no negative findings. It works.

“My strengths are in budgeting and diving into numbers,” Branstetter said.

He also pointed to the importance of customer service and building community relations.

Said Branstetter, “Right now we need to improve cash flow and so the finances will be a major focal point for me. And again, I’m not going away nor is this hospital.”