Columbia health care: Credit where credit is due

COLUMBIA — Columbia has been cited repeatedly for its quality of life attractions, from its relatively low health care costs and wide variety of hospital choices to clean air and low pollution. Those qualities attract employers.

“When we give businesses information on our health care system, it’s obvious to them that Columbia is a hub of regional health care." said Geri Alexander of Regional Economic Development Inc. "When we can tell them we have a certain number of hospitals and hospital beds, they also look at it from an employment perspective for relocating spouses. The medical community is certainly a positive image overall for Columbia.”

Columbia’s award-winning health care system attracts people and business.

“If a business were looking at several areas and all other factors were constant, Columbia could win the business based on its health care facilities,” Alexander said.

Health care businesses also employ many of the people who live here.

MU Health Care is the second largest employer in Columbia, with 4,046 employees, second only to MU, which employs 8,188, according to REDI. The second largest health care employer is Boone Hospital Center, ranking fourth overall with 1,657 employees. Boyce and Bynum Laboratories ranks 19th with 293 employees; ABC Laboratories is 20th with 290; and Mid-Missouri Mental Health Center is 24th with 244.

In 2006, Money magazine ranked Columbia as 76th in the Top 100 Best Places to Live, considering factors such as housing, student test scores, air quality, commute time and health of residents.

Also in 2006, Kiplinger.com ranked Columbia 24th in its 50 Smartest Places to Live. The ranking was based on the city’s affordable housing, access to quality health care and strong economy. Also considered in the study were the ease of living and cleanliness of downtowns.

In 2006, Expansion Management magazine’s Mayor’s Challenge ranked Columbia with five stars as a Best Metro for Business Locations, where factors included Columbia’s college-educated workforce, public education, quality of life, logistics infrastructure, health care cost and availability and taxes/government spending. The 2006 Mayor’s Challenge also ranked Columbia fifth in the Top 10 Metros for Quality of Life.

In a 2005 study, Men’s Journal listed Columbia the 42nd best place to live in the nation with one factor being health care. The same study ranked Columbia as the fourth least stressful metro area in which to live.

Also in 2005, Sperling’s Best Places ranked Columbia 189th out of 331 metropolitan areas in its “Best Places to Live” study, which included factors such as low crime rate, quality health care, leisure activities and cost of living. In 2003 Columbia was ranked ninth in this study.

On a scale of one to 100, Sperling currently rates Columbia’s air quality at 44, water quality at 60 and Superfund index at 99. Superfund is the governments program to clean up the nation’s hazardous waste sites.

In 2003, Organic Style magazine listed Columbia ninth in its healthy cities list. It considered factors such as air supply, toxics, agricultural area and regional pollution. In a 1996 “Healthiest Place to live in the Nation” study, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine ranked Columbia fourth out of 10 metro areas across the country, based on health care industry and outdoor recreation available.

Based on repeated rankings in magazines such as Modern Healthcare and U.S. News & World Report, Columbia is home to some of the best hospitals in Missouri. Awards and rankings for medical staff and programs support this claim. Alexander of REDI says Columbians have a choice of high quality hospitals.

“We have world-class facilities and doctors." Alexander said. "Many of our doctors are also professors who are bringing in grant money, not only for themselves but also to their workers and suppliers, which has a multiplier effect on our economy."

Columbia has six major hospitals: MU Health Care, Columbia Regional Hospital, Boone Hospital Center, Truman Veterans Hospital, Ellis Fischel Cancer Center and Mid-Missouri Mental Health Center. MU Health Care has 537 physicians and 5,251 other staff members, according to MU Health Care. Executive Director Keri Simon said Columbia Regional Hospital has 279 physicians. Boone Hospital Center 350 physicians, 2,000 staff members and 388 beds, said Steven Adams, Boone’s media relations specialist. The veterans hospital has 989 employees and 86 beds, Stephen Gaither, VA public affairs officer, said.

In 2007, the Missourian reported that Columbia boasts “the second highest doctor-patient ratio in the nation.” Columbia has 748 physicians per capita, while the U.S. average is 170 physicians per capita, according to Sperling’s Best Places.

In 2007, University Hospital received the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Successful Award in recognition of the work of many departments including cardiology, emergency services and ambulance services that are involved in the treatment of heart attack patients.

MU Health Care also received a July 2005-June 2006 Best Health System Award for Heart Attack Care from Total Benchmark Solution among 25 hospitals across the nation, according to totalbenchmarksolution.com.

MU Health Care also received Total Benchmark Solution’s 2004 Best Health System Award for Heart Attack Care.

In 2003, U.S. News & World Report ranked the MU’s School of Medicine’s department of family and community medicine as the second best in the nation.

For the past 10 years, U.S. News has ranked MU in the top three in this category, and for more than 10 years has ranked MU’s health services administration’s master’s degree program in the top 20, according to atmizzou.missouri.edu.

In 2001, Modern Healthcare published studies naming Columbia Regional Hospital and Boone Hospital Center among the nation’s top 100 orthopedic hospitals.
The same year, Modern Healthcare also listed Boone Hospital Center as one of the country’s top 100 stroke hospitals.

21,435-foot facility
Up to 60 seniors (stroke and heart attack recovery, dementia, Parkinson’s)
Up to 104 young children (newborn to age 6)
8 daily structured activities
Hours of operation: 6:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Cost of construction: $5 million; $1 million to be raised for scholarship programs
No beds or televisions to encourage activity