Methodist Hospitals marking centennial
Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
Gary-based Methodist Hospitals is preparing to celebrate 100 years in operation this year. CEO Matt Doyle says the health system, which operates hospitals in Gary and Merrillville, is using the milestone to emphasize its focus on the future and the addition of more community-based services.
Doyle told our partners at Lakeshore Public Radio the health system has created a mutually beneficial relationship with the community.
“The hospital is certainly an economic engine within the city of Gary, either No. 1 or No. 2 from an employment standpoint. We’re also the largest healthcare provider within the city of Gary,” Doyle said. “The city has near 70,000 citizens, and that is our community. Those citizens are our patients. Those citizens are our employees. Those citizens are the fabric of the organization.”
Doyle said Methodist is looking at positive efforts in the future as healthcare continues to evolve.
“We’re going to focus on getting outside of the four walls of the hospital and to really focus on the community needs within that. And that’s what health care is certainly shifting to.”
Some of those efforts already underway include the hospital’s new nutrition station to help fight food insecurity and the new Sexual Trauma Awareness and Recovery, or STAR, Center, which opened this year to help residents who have suffered from sexual violence and exploitation.
The health system is also establishing outpatient pharmacy programs across its footprint. A pharmacy has already opened at its Gary hospital and another is coming to its Merrillville campus.
Doyle said a greater focus is also being put on partnerships with academia. Methodist is exploring the creation of a family residency program for new doctors with Indiana University Northwest.
This is extremely important for the region as a whole. We need to have the ability to educate and create our own physicians within the marketplace,” Doyle said. “And it also gives us an additional to recruit in folks who want to be involved in programs that educate future physicians.”
Methodist Hospitals has a centennial celebration scheduled for June 17 at the Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana in Gary.
Click here to listen to Doyle’s full interview with Lakeshore Public Radio’s Michael Gallenberger.