Upcoming Expansion, New Services Keep Hendricks Regional Health on the Cutting Edge of Health Care

Writer  /  Jon Shoulders

Dr. David Farman, medical director of the emergency department at Hendricks Regional Health (HRH) in Danville, says the success and prestige of his hospital’s network of emergency departments and immediate care centers is the result of a variety of factors, including strong local ties and a dedication to community servitude among his fellow medical professionals.

“The people who work here take great pride in what they do,” Farman says of the HRH physicians and staff. “Ninety percent of us in the ER live here, so when you come in to see a physician in the ER you’re likely going to see your neighbor or someone you might run into at Kroger. I think that gives you greater ownership of the healthcare that you’re providing for your neighbors or your friends. You want to do what’s right for the people who you work with and live with on a daily basis.”

Farman says his emergency department colleagues, as well as staff members throughout all HRH departments, constantly seek new ways to improve patient experiences.

“It’s something that I take great pride in as a medical director that we have the shortest wait times of any ER in Central Indiana,” Farman says. “The things we’ve done to maintain that are having proper capacity so you have enough beds, and we really try to improve our door-to-disposition times from a physician standpoint. We do that with things like having scribes to help with documentation and also changes in nursing triage, which helps.”

Several departments at HRH have expanded in recent years according to Farman, including cardiology and general surgery.

“We have more surgeons now than I think we’ve ever had since I’ve been here,” he says. “What we’re doing in stroke care through our neurology department is really cutting edge and special. Similarly, we’ve expanded our nephrology program, which is not something we had a couple years ago, where people are able to have dialysis and stay within the Hendricks family.”

Farman says HRH has onboarded a few new services and resources within the last year including nurse navigators, who help facilitate positive patient experiences for those without primary care providers.

“The nurse navigator will help assist in making sure the patient is getting the medication that they need, or getting seen in a timely fashion by an outpatient physician,” he says. “That’s been a real boon to us in the ER, as far as making sure that the people who otherwise would have a harder time getting that ongoing care are able to get that.”

This year HRH became one of the first hospitals in the nation to use a mobile telestroke program, through which paramedics can visually and verbally communicate with physicians via iPad for patient assessments before patients arrive at the hospital. Farman says the program can be invaluable in stroke situations, where time is of the essence and allow physicians to begin ordering medications and preparing CT scans while patients are en route to the hospital.

“It allows us to give the life-saving medications to the patients 50 percent faster in some cases than other facilities of the same size,” Farman says.

In December, Hendricks Regional Health Brownsburg Hospital will open, which will include an emergency department directly adjacent to an immediate care center, as well as an inpatient medical unit, a radiology and imaging department and a cardiac rehabilitation unit, among other services. Farman says the decision by hospital officials to build the facility resulted largely from a simple need to accommodate the growing local community.

“There’s been great growth in the county, so there’s a need there,” he says. “You want to be in a place where patients can come to you and not have to drive 30 minutes. So, it’s a way for us to reach the patients who want to come to us and make it easier for them.”

For more information on all Hendricks Regional Health campuses and immediate care centers, visit hendricks.org.

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