New Bolivar Medical Center CEO brings experience

Scott Smith has spent the last month adjusting to his new position as CEO of Bolivar Medical Center, a LifePoint hospital, and he has high hopes for the new year. With over 20 years experience in the healthcare industry, Smith has one major goal.

“Everywhere I’ve been I put a lot of emphasis on patient satisfaction, along with physician satisfaction and employee satisfaction,” he said. “If your employees are happy and your physicians are happy, obviously your patient satisfaction is going to be off the chart. I want every patient in this region that comes to Bolivar Medical Center to have a 100 percent positive experience while they’re here.”

He added, “Are we there yet; probably not. Do we want to get there? Yes. And will we get there; we will.”

Smith came to Cleveland from Central Mississippi Medical Center, a 429-bed facility in Jackson. But his career began in Vicksburg, where he worked 15 years at both hospitals, before helping with a merger of the two in 1997. He stayed through 2000-2001 when the new hospital was built. After that he went to work for LifePoint sister facility Teche Regional Medical Center in Morgan City, La.

A Delta native from Greenwood, Smith said, “I’ve been gone for quite some time, but it’s good to be back in the Delta. I really prefer to be in a rural community. I guess that’s because I was born and raised here. I have friends all throughout the Delta.”

Smith’s wife and children are making the trek to the Delta in May when school is complete. He has three children, two in school and one a freshman at Mississippi State University — his alma mater.

At Central Mississippi Medical Center, Smith had 1,300 employees.

“Here you may have 300 tops, and you’ll get to know everybody’s name, which is an advantage,” he noted.

Over the past couple of years Bolivar Medical Center has made facility upgrades, both structurally and with equipment. New physicians and services have been added. And according to Smith, the hospital will continue to make strides in those areas.

“It has to,” he said. “Healthcare is very competitive. We watch each other. That’s the nice part about working for LifePoint, our parent company. They stay on the cutting edge of technology. That’s what allows our patients to receive top-notch healthcare and in today’s society you have to offer that.”

For 2012, Smith and Bolivar Medical Center will have to continue to deal with economic challenges and possible changes in the industry from the healthcare reform bill.

“There are a lot of challenges for us in this industry right now,” he commented. “All the way from reduced payments from the federal government, Medicaid cuts. But if you look at those, they trend along with the economy and what the economy is doing right now. If you look at everything that’s happening nationwide in regards to cuts, healthcare is not alone. We have to take what they give us and adjust the best we can — at the same time try to provide the best healthcare possible.”