MENNONITE HEALTH SYSTEM
“Wherever a Mennonite arrives, they make a difference because they work with the community”
An integrated health system that has served the community for more than 75 years. It is the first and only institution in Puerto Rico that has received the “Commitment Level Recognition” granted by the Quality Texas Foundation, by complying with the quality standards and processes established by the Malcolm Baldrige model.
TELL US MORE ABOUT THE MHS PUERTO RICO. WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER TO HAVE BEEN THE GREATEST ACHIEVEMENTS AND CHALLENGES SINCE YOU ASSUMED THIS POSITION?
Our mission is very important and working for the Malcolm Baldrige Award from the U.S. Congress has given us the discipline to lead efficiently this project for 10 years this project, which means continuously improving internal processes that starts with strategic planning to do the jobs in a consistent manner and give the employees the recognition they deserve. It is a very robust quality structure that makes us work continuously on quality processes and excellence.
Everything translates into an impact on the hospital, employees, medical practitioners, contractors, suppliers and becomes a quality process because they are all our business partners. We work together under the premise of continuous improvement.
Our leaders and employees raise the standard of quality, we do not aspire to be 5 stars because we have a higher grade. Our mission is to work with the love of Christ that is our standard, the highest we can aspire to be.
THE SYSTEM HAS 6 HOSPITALS AND 4,000 EMPLOYEES. CAN YOU GIVE US OTHER KEY DATA OF THE MHS, WHAT ARE THE EXPECTATIONS FOR 2021?
We have grown mainly in our territory, originally the Mennonite system served the central, south and east area of Puerto Rico but the medical plan is for the whole island. We have more than 30 years with programs of excellence with clients from Puerto Rico, the Caribbean, the U.S. and South America.
A few years ago, we established an orthopedic center with a reputation for being the best in hip and knee treatments. We also have a pediatric center in Cayey that is a center of excellence recognized by Medicare. We have another program for the morbid, and so all the programs that we go into with each of our hospitals have a particular niche.
We are currently doing robotic surgery, in Aibonito in the orthopedics department, and in Cagua we are also working in neuroscience establishing new programs for operations and brain conditions. In Guayama we have other projects, and we are trying to use technology in each of the hospitals.
In Cayey we have the most advanced facilities, such as coronary units, intensive care units, specialized facilities with a range of tertiary level professionals. The other hospitals are between secondary to tertiary level.
All our hospitals are certified, so we must comply with U.S. standards. We are supervised by Medicare and we have all the standards of care and compliance as any other in the U.S. If compared, we are among the best in different areas. Our goals are national, including Puerto Rico and the US.
WHAT IS THE RELEVANCE OF THE U.S. FOR THE MHS? HOW OPEN ARE YOU TO STRATEGIC ALLIANCES WITH U.S. HEALTH INSTITUTIONS OR INVESTORS?
We have several partnership programs in collaboration with the main medical education universities in Puerto Rico. We organize workshops for the main medical universities in Puerto Rico, we have specialized programs and we have worked on other topics through partnerships. Because of our large acquisition capacity for our hospitals, we participate in strategic alliances for group purchases.
We currently have no association with any hospital group in the U.S. but our medical staff has collaboration programs and are members of U.S. hospitals but we are focused on patients in Puerto Rico.
However, we receive patients from the Caribbean and the U.S. for our specialized services programs.
Prior to joining the Mennonite Health System, he served as Chief Financial Officer of a banking institution, and also served as Chief Executive Officer and President of a hospital system and various health programs. In addition, he served as Senior Manager at the auditing firm Deloitte. Since 2019, he has held the position of Executive Director of the MHS.
BEFORE WE GO TO THE LAST QUESTION, WE WOULD LIKE TO KNOW A LITTLE MORE ABOUT THIS PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL TRAJECTORY AND HOW YOU CAME TO POSITION YOURSELF AS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE MHS?
Throughout my 41 professional years I have been dedicated to different major sectors. First in health, then I was president of a non-profit institution in Puerto Rico, later I was in banking for ten years and now I have been with the Mennonites for 14 years and I am the Executive Director of the system.
The MHS is a project that was born from a group of Mennonite missionaries who came from Indiana at the time of World War II, specifically in 1943. They came as conscience advocates towards the war. In 1984 as part of their social services they established a clinic in a neighborhood called La Plata in the center of Puerto Rico where there were strong health and economic needs.
It was born with the church and was later transferred to a community organization. We have 76 uninterrupted years of uninterrupted service to the community, we are a non-profit, communitybased, tax-exempt institution in Puerto Rico and the USA.
Ricardo Hernandez Rivera
The beginning was humble with one clinic in a small valley and today it is a complete health system with 6 hospitals, 5 of physical health and one of mental health, which in turn is a system with 5 satellite clinics throughout central, southern and eastern Puerto Rico. We have our own medical staff and 200,000 insured people. Our satellite ambulatory emergency clinics are 6 with laboratory services, imaging, pharmacy and established medical groups.
On the other hand, the home health program, hospice and housekeeper system are services that we provide for the neighborhoods. This system has a trajectory of 76 years, served in the center and south, reaching a population of 1 million people, and attends 350 thousand emergency visits annually.
It is a large system and we distinguish ourselves because we was founded under a Mennonite group and now we are part of a community organization, we have a Christian faith base, our values and our mission is to serve with the love of Christ to provide health services in an environment of human warmth without discrimination. Our approach is that we want to be different and make a difference in Puerto Rico.
Wherever a Mennonite arrives, they make a difference because they work with the community. We are a slightly different model, we look after the physical, mental health and the social part of the individual and the family. In our hospitals we have chaplains to support the social issues of the individual and their environment and to work with people from a holistic and health aspect.
WHAT ARE YOUR FINAL COMMENTS ABOUT PUERTO RICO AND ITS POTENTIAL IN THE HEALTH SECTOR, AND HOW WOULD YOU INVITE INFLUENTIAL READERS OF THE LOS ANGELES TIMES TO VISIT THIS COUNTRY?
We are an integrated system of hospitals at all levels. We recruit staff and students from all over the U.S. and we have scholarships for students in specialty or super-specialty programs in the U.S.
Puerto Rico has always had a challenge because some of the federal disbursements, such as Medicare, have had different patterns than in the U.S. We are working hard so that the treatment of hospitals on the island is equal. Puerto Rico buys all the medical equipment just like the U.S. and we have the same structure because we are looking for a similar standard for people to come from anywhere.
Being a non-profit institution we invest everything in the community and that is the difference because everything that has been made here throughout 76 years of history we invest in better services, better resources and conditions for our employees.