STE. GENEVIEVE, Mo. – Ste. Genevieve County Memorial Hospital has named Allison Richmond, MHA as executive director of physician services.
She has a master’s degree in healthcare administration and has worked in healthcare since 2007 in a variety of positions focusing on workforce planning, strategy, and recruitment, and most recently worked for a larger physician-owned group in Illinois.
Richmond says recruiting quality practitioners can be a challenge. However, it’s a challenge she is ready to tackle.
“When I first started in my career everyone would tell me that a physician shortage was coming. The American Medical Association (AMA) said that there would be a shortage of 100,000 physicians by the year 2025, and now we’re starting to feel the shortage. Even the larger cities that have never had trouble recruiting are suddenly having difficulties finding physicians, which obviously makes it even tougher for rural communities.”
Given the statistics, she said hospitals need to change how they approach recruitment.
“Healthcare systems have to be creative in their attempt to bring physicians to their community and focus on the whole picture in what the community and health system can offer,” she explained. “It may not always be about the money, it may be something else that attracts them.”
She’s one of the first to say that larger, is not necessarily better.
“We are seeing more and more physicians realize the fact that there are still some independent hospitals out there like Ste. Genevieve, that are not part of a big health system and they have a lot of benefits,” she said. “More and more physicians are leaving corporate medicine, and are seeking out places like Ste. Gen hospital.”
Richmond said there was one very important thing that attracted her to the position at SGCMH.
“What drew me to explore the position and what ultimately sold me was that even though the physicians are employed by the hospital you could tell right away that the providers had a voice concerning the overall strategic plan of the hospital and healthcare of the community,” she said. “That was really important to me. I like to see a collaborative approach and I’m excited to be part of the team and work closely with the providers here.”
Richmond is from St. Louis and is familiar with Ste. Genevieve, but it has been a while since she visited the town.
“I love it!, she said. “It’s an awesome community. I’ve been telling my family how they need to come down here and experience the shops, water park and the many things Ste. Gen has to offer.”
Ste. Genevieve County Memorial Hospital is a nonprofit county owned community hospital that works to continue to improve the health and well-being of the community. Our professional staff uses advanced technology and medicine to provide excellent, personalized, and compassionate healthcare.
For more information on Ste. Genevieve County Memorial Hospital, visit stegenevievehospital.org.