Woodland Medical Center, a privately-owned hospital located in Cullman, has been a healthcare provider to residents of Cullman County since 1974. Founded as Doctor's Hospital almost 30 years ago, the medical facility has changed owners several times over the course of its history. As members of the Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce Existing Business and Industry Committee tour group recently learned, however, one thing that has not changed at Woodland is the commitment to quality patient care.
     An affiliate of Community Health Systems of Brentwood, Tenn., Woodland has grown from a small, community hospital into a full-fledged medical center with over 100 physicians on staff that represent 23 fields of medicine.
    According to CEO John Heider, one of the major challenges his hospital faces is that of local citizens who turn to the larger hospitals of nearby Birmingham and Huntsville for their healthcare needs.

    "One out of every four people leaves Cullman  to go to Huntsville or Birmingham for care," Heider said. "Probably 95 percent of that care we deliver locally and do it as well as anybody else. The fact that we are smaller gives us a more compassionate type of care ... it feels more like home."

    Its sense of community aside, the hospital has an impressive list of services that are constantly being upgraded. Woodland also ranked very high in a 2002 Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) survey, a score of 97/100 placing the organization in the top 10 percent of hospitals in the U.S. Additionally, Woodland's homecare services scored a perfect 100, placing them in the top 6th percentile.
    Over the last seven years, Woodland has put $13.1 million back into the hospital to improve its facility and its services, an average investment of $2 million annually. The new services added in the last two years include kyphoplasty back surgery, pediatric services, a women's imaging center, a new operating room, a diabetes education program, cardiac rehabilitation services, a heartburn treatment center and a vascular room.

    Woodland employs seven physicians on a full-time basis: five primary care physicians and two psychiatrists.  The hospital sees 3,000 admissions per year; has 14,000 emergency room visits; sees 27,000 outpatients; and performs 4,100 surgeries. In the near future, plans for expansion include additions to the women's imaging center, a bariatric surgery center, an ambulatory surgery center, a pain treatment center and a new physiatrist, expanded MRI services and continued emphasis on physician recruitment.

    Woodland Medical Center has been home to Woodland Hills Behavioral Health Center since 1990. An acute psychiatric care unit, the center has two psychiatrists in addition to other therapists who work with patients diagnosed as mentally ill.

   Woodland Hills, in addition to their primary mission, has recently added an employee assistance program that is designed to help small employers deal with substance abuse, personal and family problems, absenteeism and job-related stress among their employees.

    An exciting new development at Woodland, and one that has been very successful according to hospital officials, is the advent of the Pediatric Surgical Safari program.
    Designed to make the surgical experience less intimidating for children, the program consists of a guided tour of the outpatient and operating room areas in which the child rides in a small Jeep and is allowed to assist in administering anesthesia to a stuffed animal to help familiarize the child with the surgical process.   

    "We've had more positive reactions to the Surgical Safari than any other new service we offer," said Cindy Parrot, Woodland's Chief Nursing Officer. "It's very unique program. The anxiety level of the children who have never been through surgery is much lower."
    Photos of the child seated in the miniature Jeep, gifts of t-shirts and teddy bears and a children's book dealing with surgery also help to make the experience less overwhelming, said Parrot.

    In conjunction with the pediatric program, two private inpatient rooms in the hospital have been designated for use by younger patients. Redecorated with fanciful wall paintings and bright colors, the rooms also include televisions, VCRs and Sony Playstations to help children feel more at ease during their stay.
    Woodland has also expanded the obstetrics/maternity program entitled "The Family Place."
    More than just a maternity center, The Family Place is intended to be a comprehensive resource for new parents that includes prenatal and childbirth education classes, exercise classes for new mothers, meals for parents delivering their child at Woodland and a shower of gifts including not only practical items such as diaper bags and scrub tops but also keepsakes such as personalized birth announcements and baby clothes.
    The Family Place also has a 24-hour hotline for expecting and new mothers that deals with questions concerning pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum and newborn issues.

    Woodland is also home to a new cardiopulmonary rehabilitation center, an outpatient program that features monitored exercise sessions and education classes for those recovering from heart attack, heart surgery, chronic lung disease or lung surgery.
    The new vascular room at Woodland is another major innovation that hospital officials say is unique to the area.

    The vascular room contains a massive "C-Arm" machine, a device used in special procedures involving vascular diagnostics and therapeutic interventions.
    Typically found in larger hospitals, the C-Arm machine allows Woodland the opportunity to provide another valuable service that patients would otherwise have to travel to Birmingham or Huntsville to receive, said Heider.
    "We're very proud of the hospital and how it's growing," he said. "I'm proud to be part of the team at Woodland."
    For more online information on Woodland Medical Center, visit their website at www.woodlandmedicalcenter.com, or see  Community Health System's page on the hospital at http://www.chs.net/where.we.serve/hospitals/woodland1.htm.
      Information is also available through the Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce at 256-734-0454.