Company Report: Downey Regional Medical Center
Broadening its scope This Southern California facility has grown and evolved with the times and now sees more than 100,000 patients a year

Downey Regional Medical Center - a 199-bed, not-for-profit regional hospital and medical center servicing southeast Los Angeles County and parts of Long Beach and Orange County - has undergone many changes since its humble beginnings shortly after the end of World War One.

Known at the time as Downey Hospital, the facility occupied the second floor of the Downey Hotel and had six beds and two physicians on staff. A year later a new management team renamed the facility Virginia Hospital. It wasn't long after that a massive explosion in the area killed nine and injured 20, demonstrating the need for a larger, more accommodating facility.

The Virginia Hospital subsequently relocated to 5th Street, where a larger staff and 15 beds made for a more full-service facility that was again re-named, this time as the Downey Community Hospital. A lot has changed in the nearly 100 years that Downey has been operating. The country has seen major booms, times of economic prosperity, and periods of bust and crushing poverty. All the while, Downey has been there.

In 1964, plans were approved for construction of private, non-profit hospital. The current facility on Brookshire Avenue opened in 1969, licensed for 152 beds. "The day after opening, eight surgeries were performed. Within one week, the hospital was full." (Corporate website) Since the late 1990s the hospital has been licensed for 199 beds.

Today, Downey Regional Medical Center is "Guided by a volunteer board of directors [and] features sophisticated facilities and equipment complemented by highly trained medical, nursing, technical and support staff. Together, board members, physicians and staff provide care to more than 100,000 patients each and every year." (Corporate website) Additionally, the hospital employs approximately 1,500 individuals and has annual revenue of $170 million (2008 figures).

Next on the drawing board? A three-story Medical Office Plaza on the DRMC campus with completion expected in the near future. With the nation now in the grip of a brutal recession that shows no significant signs of letting up any time soon, facilities such as Downey and the varied care it offers are of paramount importance.

SERVICES
DRMC earned key certification from the County of Los Angeles in 2008 when its Emergency Services Department received Emergency Department Approved for Pediatrics (EDAP), granted by the county's Department of Health Services. DRMC is one of 43 hospitals in LA County that are EDAP accredited. "EDAP accreditation allows Downey Regional Medical Center to care for pediatric patients from the 9-1-1 system. To qualify as an EDAP, a hospital emergency department must meet specific criteria, including requirements for pediatric equipment, physician coverage, ongoing pediatric education and policies as well as having a designated Pediatric Liaison Nurse (PdLN)." (Corporate website)

DRMC also provides a number of Health Education Programs taught exclusively by physicians and highly-trained professionals. The programs promote healthy lifestyles and incorporate interactive learning and humor as a way to help participants learn long-term lifestyle changes in a short period of time.

Additionally, Downey Regional Medical Center offers varied patient services, including diabetes programs, tips for communicating with your doctor, and advice for choosing a homecare provider. DRMC has also established a medical teaching program OMM clinic in conjunction with Western University.

THE LEADERSHIP TEAM
President and CEO Kenneth Strople joined the team at Downey in April of 2006, then as Executive Vice President and CAO. Strople's career in the health industry began when he worked as a clinical laboratory technician. Strople earned a bachelor's degree in zoology from San Diego State University and holds an MS in Medical Technology from California State University Dominguez Hills and an MBA from California Lutheran University.

Executive Vice President and COO Robert Fuller oversees day-to-day operations at Downey Medical Center and has been instrumental in designing and implementing a five-year turnaround strategy and promoting a broad-based customer focus. He chairs the multi-disciplinary operating, accountability, patient flow and revenue integrity committees. He also functions as the primary government relations liaison and oversees the human resources function at the hospital. He also teaches management, supervisory and coaching skills classes to hospital managers, as well as communications styles and self-awareness programs for supervisors.

CFO Richard Yardley, with his 25 years of health care experience, is at the reigns of Downey's finances. His track record speaks for itself as he co-founded Medical Development Specialists and Belvedere HealthPartners, LLC, a small national healthcare consulting company. He was also the Corporate Chief Financial Officer overseeing the four-hospital system of United Western Medical Center (UWMC) in Santa Ana, CA.

Heather Conwell, Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer, is charged with the duty of overseeing the hospital's nursing staff. Conwell has been with Downey for nearly 30 years, joining the team in 1982 as an R.N. in the emergency room. In 1987, she was named Assistant Director of Nursing, and by 1989 became Chief Nursing Officer. She was named VP in 2007.

Bill Stein, Vice President of Ancillary Operations, provides leadership to physicians, staff and employees and is responsible for overseeing the hospital's ancillary and support departments. He has more than 24 years of experience managing various departments in for-profit, non-profit and teaching hospitals.

As Vice President Compliance/Risk & Quality, Kathy Foster - a member of the Downey staff since 1978 - is responsible for risk and quality management, medical staff services, DRMC's family practice training program, corporate compliance, case management, social services, and education, among other programs. She was promoted to her current position in March, 2009.

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