At the Winslow Chamber of Commerce’s monthly Good Morning Winslow meeting, Ashley Wilkie, outpatient services director at Little Colorado Medical Center (LCMC), and Bruce Cimafranca, the lab manager at LCMC, shared insights into the recent advancements and initiatives at the hospital aimed at enhancing healthcare services for the local community. Cimafranca discussed the profound impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on his perspective towards healthcare, sparking a determination to secure as many resources as possible for the hospital.
A key innovation highlighted by Cimafranca is the acquisition of a digital chemistry testing machine at LCMC. This dry testing machine, notable for its operation without water, thereby minimizing the risk of contaminant introduction, represents a significant technological advancement. “We are one of the first communities in northern Arizona to get this machine,” Cimafranca noted, emphasizing the machine’s state-of-the-art nature and its role in enhancing LCMC’s diagnostic capabilities.
To address the need for tests that the hospital cannot perform on-site, LCMC has implemented a daily courier service. This service dispatches at 4 p.m. each day, delivering samples to Phoenix labs for same-day testing, with results being transferred back to LCMC as soon as they are available. This ensures that residents have timely access to a broader range of diagnostic services without the need to travel to Flagstaff.
Further improving accessibility and affordability, LCMC has adopted a new pricing scheme for lab services. Based on wages, Medicare rates and state wages, this adjustment has led to significant cost reductions for patients. “Our lab services have already reduced as much as 50%,” Cimafranca informed attendees, reflecting LCMC’s commitment to making healthcare more affordable for the community it serves.
Wilkie discussed improvements on the clinic side, particularly in urgent care. “For the first time ever since I’ve worked at the hospital, which is almost 13 years, we are able to take a phone call and get someone in for urgent care within an hour,” she proudly stated, underscoring the efficiency and responsiveness that LCMC now offers. The center provides a range of services including physicals, family practice and general surgery, and has established a partnership with Flagstaff Surgical Associates (FSA) to offer even more specialized care options.
Despite these advancements, data from 2023 revealed that while 82% of clinic visitors are from Winslow, only 16% of the town’s residents choose LCMC for their primary care, largely due to a preference for the Indian Health Services hospital. However, patient volumes are expected to rise, from an average of 42 patients per day in 2023 to between 50 and 60 in 2024. Wilkie also highlighted the significant improvement in appointment wait times, from nearly two months for new patients in 2021 to an average of five days, with current scheduling allowing for next-day appointments.
Travis Udall, who will take over as CEO of LCMC in May, was introduced at the meeting. He spoke about his background, stating he worked at the schools in Holbrook for 13 years and then was the superintendent in Round Valley and served on the hospital board, which after retiring from education he was appointed to run the hospital in Springerville and was recently recruited to work at LCMC.
“One of the things that we are going to emphasize at the hospital is to improve and strengthen the partnerships with the community,” he stated, expressing his commitment to making LCMC a trusted and dependable healthcare provider for the communities it serves.
After being asked about his plans for behavioral health expansion at the hospital, Udall spoke about his time in Springerville saying they had a “family values coalition” where they would have a luncheon monthly with all the religious denominations and nonprofits. “We talked about families and needs. We didn’t talk about beliefs or politics, we only talked about family needs.” They were able to pool resources with these organizations to address some of the bigger issues especially when it came to mental health resources.
LCMC indeed has much to celebrate with its significant expansion in resources, alongside the remarkable reduction in wait times and costs for patients. These strides showcase the center’s dedication to addressing the immediate and long-term health needs of its community, with a keen focus on both physical and mental health services, underscores its pivotal role in fostering a healthier, more connected community in Winslow and beyond.
