Annual Report 2004
	Letter from the Chairmen
	Major Facilities Expansion
	Reinforces Commitment to Outpatient Care
	Commitment to Care Strengthened at New Harleysville Facility
	ViewPoints
	Oncology Care Strengthened through Fox Chase Partnership
	Financial Review
	A Family's Commitment to Grand View Hospital Spans Three Generations
	Missions & Values Statement

Grand View Reinforces Commitment to Outpatient Care

As healthcare institutions strive to become more flexible in meeting the needs of community members, increasingly complex services have begun to be offered in outpatient or ambulatory care settings. Freestanding facilities have proven to be a popular and effective alternative for administering tests and screenings and providing advanced medical treatments.

When the High Point Cancer Center in New Britain Township began offering radiation oncology and related cancer treatment in 2001, it served as an indicator of the increasing sophistication of services available in the outpatient setting. The new Grand View Hospital Outpatient Center at Harleysville represents the next step in this progression, offering digital medical imaging services as advanced as those offered in a hospital setting.

Outpatient care is generally seen as more convenient and more comfortable for the patient. The trend in health care has been to move routine visits, screenings, diagnostic and imaging services, and rehabilitation out of the hospital setting, which also frees resources within the hospital to care for inpatients and expand other clinical services.

Why Outpatient Care?

For a number of reasons, ambulatory care visits have steadily been increasing both in total numbers and as a percentage of total healthcare visits.

• Convenience – consumers may be able to find facilities close to work or home with hours tailored to their lifestyles. Scheduling is also more predictable, as outpatient facilities encourage patients to make appointments and tend to have few unscheduled visits.
  
  
• Cost-effective care – insurance and managed care providers offer lower co-pays or increased coverage when patients receive services on an outpatient basis.
  
  
• Quality care – outpatient facilities increasingly offer technology, treatment, and expertise equivalent to that available in the hospital setting.

Source: The Lewin Group analysis of American Hospital Association
Survey data, 1980 - 2001, for community hospitals