Tyler Stapp, chief operating officer of Pineville (Ky.) Community Health Center, has spent his career in healthcare focused on improving patients’ access to care.
Mr. Stapp helped Pineville modernize its facility and treatment options in recent years. His mission has remained simple since his journey in healthcare began, “provide access closer to home.”
At age 8, he was diagnosed with a seizure disorder. As a child, there were weeks when he had 40-50 seizures.
“I had a very good support system from our school nurses, my parents, and then we had friends also that would always step in and help if something should arise,” Mr. Stapp said.
Mr. Stapp received care from a major health system’s pediatric neurology program for roughly seven years. He seemed to be doing well from the treatment and on medication. Then, the seizures resumed.
Mr. Stapp’s family took him to a different health system, four-and-a-half hours away, where he had a craniotomy. After having a piece of his left temporal lobe removed, he was seizure-free following the second of two procedures.
Even with a strong support system, following the procedures, there was a long road to recovery. Mr. Stapp was told he would never go to college.
“(College) was like one step, I felt so good tackling that challenge, but then I had plenty of other challenges trying to catch up to live a normal life,” Mr. Stapp recalls. “So from my education perspective, I was not doing very well in school at all. I had to play catch-up with that.
“Somerset Community College is where it all started for me. I was fortunate to have a great support system, and I made the most of every opportunity, whether that meant taking foundational classes or getting involved in student government. Those experiences played a big role in my personal and social development.”
Mr. Stapp went on to earn his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of the Cumberlands (Williamsburg, Ky.). He began his healthcare career as a Healthcare Explorer (volunteer), then worked as a patient access representative and as a CNA, all at a large for-profit hospital, before transitioning into an administrative role. As a CNA, he worked 12-hour shifts, six days a week for almost two years, through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mr. Stapp worked independently with a number of rural hospitals before transitioning to Pineville Community Health Center. When Mr. Stapp arrived at Pineville at 24, he wanted to help provide patients with the access that he and his family desperately needed when he was younger.
After establishing himself at the health system, Mr. Stapp helped establish a close collaboration between Lexington, Ky.-based UK Healthcare and Pineville.
“We joined the Stroke Care Network and the Gill Heart and Vascular Institute Affiliate Network through UK HealthCare,” Mr. Stapp said. “With joining those programs, it really kind of gave us a kickstart, enhancing our processes in our emergency department, but it also led to a lot of connections, for not only myself, but a lot of our staff members.”
Mr. Stapp began the transformation of Pineville the same way he began with his transformation after his procedures, by identifying weaknesses and attacking them.
“I believe in continuous self-improvement. I regularly reflect on my strengths and areas where I can grow and I take steps to keep getting better,” Mr. Stapp said.
“One thing with healthcare is it’s always changing. Whether it’s regulations or the demand and markets for staff, how you have to adjust your culture, basically to attract and retain them and make sure that they’re appreciated. So, I always say, no matter if it’s something personal or something professional, you always have room for improvement.”
The post A rural health system COO’s mission to improve patient access appeared first on Becker's Hospital Review | Healthcare News & Analysis.
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