Michael Smith, MD (Host): Welcome to the Kirby Connections Health Podcast, where we help you nourish your wellness journey with Kirby Medical Center. I'm your host, Dr. Mike, and in this episode we're going to talk about Kirby Medical Center's impact and growth in the community with Steve Tenhouse, the Kirby Medical Center, CEO. I got the big guy. Steve, welcome to the show.

Steve Tenhouse, MHA, FACHE: Glad to be here. I appreciate it.

Host: You're the perfect person to tell us a little bit about Kirby Medical Center organization and its history. Let's start there.

Steve Tenhouse, MHA, FACHE: Sure. We're a 16 bed critical access hospital. Anybody not familiar with critical access hospitals? It's just a designation by the Medicare program. Our main differences were always 25 beds or less, but otherwise, from an acute care hospital standpoint, we're no different than any other hospital.

We have been in business here in Monticello and Pike County since 1941 and interesting start to the organization. John and Mary Kirby left the bulk of their estate to create the Kirby Medical Center organization. And when they passed, their daughter picked up the mantle and she got the first board of directors put in place.

They purchased an old mansion in Monticello and it was converted to a hospital, and that's where we started, in 1941. Lot's changed since then. I love reading the newspaper headlines from 1941 that talks about the hospital having all the amenities that you want in a hospital, including wood burning fireplaces in the patient rooms. And, windows that opened. So things had definitely changed, right? Lot's happened since 1941. But a lot of good things.

Host: Yeah. So you're on that same spot now, is your campus now where the original mansion was?

Steve Tenhouse, MHA, FACHE: We are not. So the mansion was torn down in the early seventies and there was a hospital built there, and that's we were until 2011 when we purchased the 108 acres on the edge of town and built a new hospital out here. It opened in September of 2011.

Host: So what was the plan then at this new location? I'm sure you're moving from 1941, coming into more current times. What, was that plan for that new location? Why'd you feel that was necessary?

Steve Tenhouse, MHA, FACHE: Well, when I took over as CEO in 2004, 2005, board of directors and I went through some detailed strategic planning and really the ability to grow and what we needed to do to survive was at the forefront. And we needed to grow and we had no room on at the old location. We were completely landlocked, by a major street as well as old historic homes that were around that mansion at the time.

So we had nowhere to grow there, and we realized that if we wanted to grow, we needed to move. And, this property was available just off the interstate at the exchange here in Monticello and really purchased 108 acres not just for the hospital, but for growth of services that would support the hospital around us too and support the community.

And that's definitely come to fruition over the last 10 or so years.

Host: So how long ago was this? We're looking about 13 years or so.

Steve Tenhouse, MHA, FACHE: It will be 14 years in September.

Host: Wow. So, obviously it was a great move for you guys, right? So how, like, what's happening now at Kirby Medical Center since that move that maybe wasn't happening at the old site?

Steve Tenhouse, MHA, FACHE: Sure. Well, the big thing that the move allowed us was basically to bring all of our services kind of up to what contemporary standards were, and at the same time allow us room to grow. So we knew when we moved the hospital here, it sits on about 25 acres. So for a number of years we were the only thing sitting here, um, you know, on the 108 acres was just the hospital. 

But since then, we first had an assisted living facility, that built across the street, which filled a void that the community didn't have. We then have had two different housing subdivisions open. One of them is a 55 and older subdivision. There's a brand new daycare center that is just built and is opening in a week. That fills the void here.

It has been great for the community because it's added services that otherwise really, you know, weren't good locations, for those, to be here in town. But I think for the hospital, really what it's offered us is that ability to expand and grow. And we have added therapy services. We've added mental health services. We've added a CrossFit gym. We've added a number of things that really kind of help support the community, not only, when they need medical attention, but also making it a healthier place to live.

Host: And I like this idea of campus, right? Because, because you're talking about multiple, places and different facilities that have different purposes and stuff. Like, you even mentioned the CrossFitness center. Is that open to the community? What's that for?

Steve Tenhouse, MHA, FACHE: Yeah, our therapy department continued to grow physical therapy, occupational, speech therapy really continued to grow and realized we needed a much larger space than what we had. So, we built a new therapy and wellness center across the street from the hospital. We increased the amount of space for the therapy department by, I think a magnitude of five.

So they went from about 3,500 square feet to 15, 16, 18,000 square feet. And also then we had started our CrossFit gym in another location, and we merged it into the same building just because it's good to have those services next to each other, and it is open to the public. The CrossFit gym is a subscription service.

And then within the therapy department we have a program we called KMC Move that is also exercise and medical fitness, that is a subscription service. And we have just seen the volumes in both, uh, of those programs really hockey stick since we opened them there.

Michael Smith, MD (Host): I want to back up for a sec because you, kind of touched on all this, but I want to make sure the listening audience understands everything that's available here. So we got this campus, Kirby Medical Center campus, a lot of things going on. Can you review again, just like what are the main facilities at this campus? Just so we really get that into the listeners' you know, mind.

Steve Tenhouse, MHA, FACHE: Sure. So probably the best way to discuss is kind of the neighborhoods that have been created. So there's Sage Meadows, which is a single family home development of about a hundred homes and there are about 70 homes that have been built there right now and it's still growing. There's Sage Woods, which is the 55 and older development that has about 12 homes and is designed for 19.

There's Sage Crossing and that's where our Therapy and Wellness center is, as well as, a specialty clinic we have for oncologist and for our geriatric behavioral health. And then there's Sage Fields, which is a new development, which is where the daycare center, is built.

Within the hospital itself, we have inpatient beds. We have an emergency department. We have Quick Care. We have a surgery department that's robust. We do general surgery, orthopedic surgery, lithotripsy procedures. And then, we have obviously a 24/7 lab and imaging department, with all of the major imaging equipment, as well as lab services.

We, we can process about 95% of any lab tests that gets ordered. We can process it right here on site. And then we also have our Kirby Medical Group, our physician clinic, that we have four physicians here in Monticello and six or eight APPs. And again, provide family care from birth to geriatrics. And then outside the community, we have two rural health clinics in communities around us, as well as two retail pharmacies.

Host: So this is very impressive, right? So you're talking about a lot of land. How many acres again?

Steve Tenhouse, MHA, FACHE: We started out with 108.  

Host: If you're in the 55 and older community or in the other homes, it doesn't sound like I would feel like I'm in the middle of a medical center.

Steve Tenhouse, MHA, FACHE: Right. Yeah. That's the beauty of it. I mean, you feel like you're part of a community and that was our intent, was to try to bring services to this campus that would benefit and need the hospital, but at the same time be a great place to live. And throughout all those things, we have a mile and a half to two mile wellness trail, that kind of connects all these different communities together. 

In the, the warmer months here in Illinois, you always see a lot of people out biking, walking, running on the wellness trail. It really kind of fills the change in vision we had a number of years ago that we not only wanted to be a place where people came when they were sick, but we wanted it to be a place for people to come to stay healthy.

And we changed our vision statement to, wanting to make Pike County a healthier place to live. And it's been great seeing that vision come true.

Host: That's fantastic, Steve. And since you've been the CEO you've seen a lot of this change. When you talk about the campus, I love the passion behind what you're saying. You know, I'm going to put you on the spot. I mean, you got a lot of stuff there. What's your favorite part of it?

Steve Tenhouse, MHA, FACHE: You know, the honestly a favorite part are the people that work here. In a small community, it's different. You know, you never know, if you're going to be taking care of a family member, a friend, a friend of a friend, again, small communities, people know each other. We really talk about the added responsibility that we have here of taking care of everybody, obviously, regardless of their ability to pay, but providing them the level of compassionate care that they deserve and that they expect when they come to Kirby.

Host: Perfect answer, Steve. People, we love that. Tell me about the communities though. So there's a lot of communities around you communities all over this country were evolving and changing quite quickly. Let's be honest. How are they responding to this and is Kirby Medical Center and the campus in a position that you feel like you're ready to adapt to those changes?

Steve Tenhouse, MHA, FACHE: I really think we are, and I think we've proven that. You know, with, again, the assistance and the support of our board of directors, the focus has been on not only taking care of people when they're sick, but what can we do to keep communities healthier? We've been able to have a number of relationships with the schools around us to provide cooking classes. 

We, you know, give them athletic training support, just, really have looked to them and have great relationships with them to say, help us with what you need. We know what the data tells us, but help us kind of bridge the gap between the data we're seeing and what you're seeing your needs are.

And then collectively, let's figure out how we can provide something that that makes sense, is going to make a difference.

Host: Steve, I'm a home cook and I'm not really good. I, I could use your, your classes on cooking a little bit. I'm trying.

Steve Tenhouse, MHA, FACHE: Yeah, I need to attend them myself. I hear you.

Host: So, okay, so here we are. It's 2025. I know it's hard to believe, right? March already, 2025. What's next for Kirby Medical Center? I know you're not done growing, obviously, based on just everything you've said. So what are the opportunities that you see?

Steve Tenhouse, MHA, FACHE: We're fortunate our community continues to grow. We have great schools here. We have a very proud community that supports us, and we've seen that over the years with more people coming here, for care or to stay healthy. So we're just building on that. You know, with those volumes comes more need for lab and imaging in primary care.

And we're in the middle of construction project right now where we're moving some departments around, and the space that our therapy department freed up when they left, we're moving our lab into that space. Adding more room for our primary care and our orthopods, and adding an imaging suite and just really trying to stay up with it.

You know, living in construction is never fun, and I feel for our patients, you know, when they're coming in and, they're hearing concrete saws and you know, and all the noise in the background. But I just always say, you know, that's the sound of progress. And we say a lot here, you know, with the staff that those are growing pains.

And growing pains are always easier to deal with than shrinking pains. We keep that in mind. And it's been amazing what we've been able to do and have a another big project that's still in the plans right now to expand our surgery department and kind of for really set us up in the next 10 or 15 years. So we're excited about that.

Host: Fantastic. So Steve, you and I get in an elevator. We're in a, a big building in some city USA, and we're on the 10th floor and we got to go all the way down to the lobby. And I ask you, what do you do? What's your elevator pitch to me about Kirby Medical Center and the campus?

Steve Tenhouse, MHA, FACHE: I would say I get the great opportunity to care for a community of people with everybody that I work with. And, if you come to our campus and you come to our hospital, you're going to be very well taken care of. It's something that we live for every day and we're proud to do.

Host: Perfect. And we still have like eight floors to go so we can talk about something else like cooking or something. I don't know. Whatever you would like to do. Hey Steve, thanks so much for joining me today. This was fantastic.

Steve Tenhouse, MHA, FACHE: I really appreciate you having me. Thanks so much.

Host: This has been another episode of Kirby Connections Health Podcast, where we help you nourish your wellness journey with Kirby Medical Center. To learn more, please visit kirbyhealth.org. That's kirbyhealth.org. Thanks for listening.