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For health systems rising in east central Pasco County, projections are that between 2020 and 2045, the service area will grow between 84% and 92%.
“Those are almost incomprehensible numbers,” said Erik Wangsness, CEO of AdventHealth Wesley Chapel.
Built in 2012, his hospital was the first to enter the marketplace. Now, capable, smart organizations have followed it and taken root, he said.
BayCare’s Wesley Chapel hospital up the road has been open for a year now, Orlando Health is breaking ground a few miles to the east and Johns Hopkins All Children’s is planned just to the north. All the new bed capacity will accommodate the growth, mitigating some of the pressure to perform. But like any business, AdventHealth Wesley Chapel must compete ahead on quality, cost and service offerings. Wangsness said changes to its strategic thinking aren’t super complex — but its service offerings are.
A year ago, it opened a craniotomy program.
“We're seeing sicker and sicker patients and performing higher acuity surgeries,” he said. “Neurosurgery — people who needed brain surgery — we hadn't done that before.”
100 craniotomies
In 2023, the hospital performed 100 cases. The success of the discipline at the facility has exceeded expectations.
“Those are folks in our market who otherwise would have had to get in a helicopter or an ambulance and travel somewhere else that we could take care of,” he said. “Being here 11 and a half years is a good thing.”
Investing in capabilities that “provide more control over the premium dollar” is wise for health care leaders, the Healthcare Financial Management Association said in its 2024 guide for health system leaders and their boards.
“Collaborating around integrated provider networks allows systems and physicians to position themselves for success under value-based care, integrate services vertically and expand specialty service lines to leverage resources to support stronger financial performance,” the report said.
AdventHealth Wesley Chapel is looking to expand with a new bed tower and more procedural space for imaging and OR capacity as it builds higher-level services for neurology, cardiology and interventional radiology, Wangsness said.
Pasco workforce challenges and opportunities
He’s also active in regional visioning, as Wangsness serves on the Pasco EDC board. When he thinks of 80% more people living in the same area, his mind immediately goes to infrastructure.
"There's going to be huge challenges from simply getting around," he said. "Getting east to west is a big challenge now. So, how are we going to navigate that? How are we going to make that work?"
One of the challenges faced by a growing health care presence in a small proximity is human capital, he said.
"Yeah, we want patients to choose us, as will Baycare and Orlando Health," he said. "But, just think of the opportunity not only for nurses and physicians, respiratory therapists and dieticians and physical therapists but also for housekeeping staff and dietary staff."
That means it's more imperative than ever to coordinate with educational organizations to create homegrown talent to serve this growing population, he said. "That's certainly a big concern and a focus for us as we move forward."
The labor market has softened a bit, and it's getting better -- but the need won't go away, Wangsness said.
About Erik Wangsness
Erik Wangsness grew up outside Minneapolis and earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s degree in health care administration, both from the University of Minnesota.
He took on the role in Wesley Chapel in September 2019. Before coming to Florida, Wangsness was president of Washington (D.C.) Adventist Hospital and previously served in leadership roles within AdventHealth (then called Adventist Health System), including president/CEO of Jellico Community Hospital in Tennessee, director of business development and assistant to the CEO at what is now called AMITA Health Adventist Medical Center Bolingbrook in Illinois and executive director of the foundation at Littleton Adventist Hospital in Colorado.
