S. C. Walling2, J. C. Heimroth1,2, E. R. Sutton1,2 1University Of Louisville,Department Of Surgery,Louisville, KY, USA 2Surgery On Sunday Louisville, Inc,Louisville, KY, USA
Introduction: In a climate of increasing expectation and perpetual change, every healthcare organization struggles to balance its efforts to improve patient experience and outcomes while reducing costs and fostering the well-being of its personnel. The pursuit of these four objectives—the Quadruple Aim—has become a topic of national interest. Surgery on Sunday Louisville (SOSL), a non-profit organization in Louisville, KY, sought to achieve this target by partnering with the local medical community to provide free surgery to the underinsured. The objective of this study is to show that SOSL serves as a model of meeting the Quadruple Aim by improving population health, enhancing the patient experience, reducing the cost of care, and supporting provider well-being.
Methods: A retrospective analysis of SOSL’s outcomes and practices was performed in order to evaluate its efficacy in achieving the 4 goals of the Quadruple Aim. Its effect on population health and patient experience were assessed by analyzing data regarding the utilization of its services and the characteristics of its patients and their medical problems. A survey administered to a cohort of 25 volunteers was utilized to evaluate the effect of the program on the resilience and well-being of SOSL’s volunteer staff.
Results: Now in its fifth year, SOSL has improved population health by caring for 363 patients in its outpatient surgical clinic and free surgical events and performing 81 surgeries and 144 endoscopies, which have not only reduced the burden of disease but also increased access to colorectal cancer screening. The ambulatory clinic, established in 2016, has provided 204 individual patient encounters in its first 13 months, and has improved the patient experience by bridging barriers to care. SOSL reduces the cost of care to both the patients and the healthcare system by utilizing operating rooms outside of normal scheduled use, providing a completely volunteer workforce, and treating patients’ medical problems earlier and in the elective setting instead of allowing them to go untreated and eventually requiring hospital admission and more urgent and costly care. Finally, this work also fosters an environment of overall wellness and resilience in over 500 volunteers from across departments and hospital institutions. Of those volunteers surveyed, 58% report their SOSL work is more meaningful and fulfilling than their day-to-day work.
Conclusion: SOSL is a replicable model that achieves the Quadruple Aim by engaging the medical community in providing free surgical care to the underinsured.