We're Ready to Take Care of You: Maury Regional Medical Center's Commitment to Community

Every time a new group of employees gathers at Maury Regional Medical Center for orientation, CEO Martin Chaney, M.D., makes it a priority to leave the new recruits with one essential takeaway.

"I remind our new employees that they will be taking care of their neighbors," Dr. Chaney said. "Sometimes the people in our care are family members of our colleagues, members of our church or our kids may go to school with their children. That human connection is vital to our success and deserved by those who entrust us with their care."

Martin M. Chaney, M.D., CEO, Maury Regional Medical Center

According to Dr. Chaney—who has worked at the hospital as a physician and been part of the Maury County community for more than 20 years—this sentiment impacts how the employees feel and how they care for patients. These strong community ties are more than mere motivation; they are part of how the 255-bed not-for-profit hospital—the largest between Nashville and Huntsville—is structured.

"We are unique in that we are a community-based organization, with local board members approved by the county commission," Dr. Chaney said. "When we look at our community health needs assessment, which is part of our not-for-profit status, we take the results very seriously. When this assessment identifies certain needs in our community, we have historically focused heavily on those areas and implemented strategies that meet the health care needs of the community."

Raising the Bar on Quality

That steadfast commitment to the community is what has helped the hospital evolve over its 70-year history into one of the top-rated hospitals in the state. And it's what keeps Dr. Chaney and his team striving to do better.

"Our mission reflects our drive to provide clinically excellent, compassionate care, and you cannot separate the two," said Dr. Chaney. "You could have the best practices, but if it's not delivered in a way that's very compassionate, you're not going to have the best quality outcomes. The opposite is also true."

Together, the hospital staff works to ensure that, in every aspect of care, they reach the 90th percentile in terms of quality and performance. That includes things like how patients receive chest pain care, the quality of newborn and mother care, and whether they are meeting best practices set by The Joint Commission.

"When you aim high, you are more likely to hit your mark," said Dr. Chaney.

The hospital is committed to continually monitoring and evaluating performance to achieve world class care. For example, it’s quality council and patient safety council, composed of clinical staff, non-clinical staff and community members, meet monthly to review performance and identify opportunities for improvement. 

"I'm proud of the commitment from our staff and physicians," said Dr. Chaney. "When you're a leader of an organization like this, you realize, yes, there are certain things that I can do to influence outcomes, but ultimately, it's the frontline clinical staff that's seeing those patients every day that makes the difference."

“Our mission reflects our drive to provide clinically excellent, compassionate care, and you cannot separate the two.”

—Martin Chaney, M.D., CEO, Maury Regional Medical Center

Prioritizing Innovation

In addition to compassion and quality, Maury Regional embraces cutting-edge advancements to remain at the forefront of medical innovation. The hospital has invested in a robotics program, adding a second da Vinci Surgical System to their toolset last year. 

The hospital also utilizes a robotic approach for most joint replacement procedures and is currently one of the top joint replacement hospitals in the state of Tennessee. The orthopedic group at Maury Regional uses robotics to examine how a new joint will align against a patient's anatomy so that it will function well post-replacement.

"Robotic surgery helps guide the surgeon to nearby structures and aids in making sure that the surgery is minimally invasive, leading to improved recovery time," Dr. Chaney said. 

Today, Maury Regional has 12 surgeons who are robotically trained.

In addition to robotics, the hospital has taken a look at what can be done bedside. More and more ER providers are being trained in bedside ultrasound, which allows them to look at certain structures almost immediately.

"I have two sons who are in medicine, and that's how they're being trained to use their ultrasound like I used my stethoscope in my career," said Dr. Chaney. "We're seeing more and more physicians come out of their training, bringing these best practices and these state-of-the-art new technologies that then encourage us to step up and make sure that we have the infrastructure for them to practice that type of cutting-edge medicine."

Maury Regional Medical Center's commitment to quality and innovation is earning the hospital recognition outside of the community. For example, the hospital maintains chest pain accreditation by the American College of Cardiology. The organization reviews the hospital's data from the time a patient first presents with chest pain until their treatment concludes . According to Dr. Chaney, they are looking at response times and processes, but also considering what the continuum of care looks like and whether or not it is a seamless transition from the initial presentation all the way through to that follow-up rehab component.

"When I came here 21 years ago as a physician, we did not have this cardiac program," Dr. Chaney said. "If someone came into our ER and was having a heart attack, we would have to stabilize them with medicines, send them to Nashville, and hope that they'd get there in time for procedures to be done to open up the arteries.”

“To see us transition over the past 20 years from that level of care to where we're recognized as one of the top hospitals in the state, and even nationally for caring for patients coming in with cardiac-related heart attack or other heart-related conditions, it's just been an exciting journey and we’re excited to see what our future holds as well."

With their dedication to compassionate care, innovation and achieving excellence in quality, Maury Regional Medical Center remains a trusted partner for the community's health care needs.

"Health care is fundamental to the community experience and to quality of life,” said Dr. Chaney. “We want to continue to grow services and improve access to clinically excellent compassionate health care for all of our community."