Annual Report 2004
United in Our Vision

The activity of the past year provides a foundation on which we build our future. True to our vision, we are already planning what your Hospital can do to meet tomorrow’s needs.

That’s why we have been working diligently for more than two years on a facility master plan — a comprehensive review of how Backus Hospital can meet the community’s healthcare needs in the years to come.

As with all our undertakings, this dynamic project stems directly from our mission and is consistent with our strategic plan. It includes critical upgrades of many key areas, including:

• In the Emergency Department, we plan to increase the number of beds to improve patient flow and add more flexibility and privacy.

• More private inpatient rooms and improved efficiencies that will allow us to adjust for changes in patient volume and acuity.

• New space in Surgical Services will allow us to meet increased demand for these important procedures, and also enhance privacy and efficiency.

• The addition of Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) with a second linear accelerator will provide cancer treatment that offers maximum radiation therapy doses to specifically targeted cells, while reducing the amount of radiation in surrounding tissue.

This project holds great promise for your Hospital, and we look forward to sharing more with you as we move ahead.

At the same time, we are well aware of the challenges facing our nation’s healthcare industry. Fortunately, due to prudent planning, your Hospital has again fared well, although we constantly feel the effects of declining reimbursements, rising drug costs and increasing insurance premiums. These issues pose genuine threats to community hospitals like Backus. Only by making strategically sound decisions can we remain vital and meet the needs of the communities for whose benefit we exist.

We would like to especially thank a special member of our Medical Staff, Dr. Larry Coletti, who will retire this year. As Chairman of the Division of Surgical Services, Dr. Coletti’s leadership and expertise have helped Backus Hospital to become the place it is. His generosity to the Backus Foundation will help enable the Hospital be all it can be in the future. We wish Dr. Coletti the very best in his retirement.

From its founding in 1893, Backus Hospital has relied on the generosity of its benefactors to carry out its mission. That has never been more true. The impressive list of donors in this report is testament to the importance of philanthropy in allowing the Hospital to meet ever-changing healthcare needs. We are grateful to our benefactors, whose vision and thoughtfulness help secure our future.

That future is based on a vision — one firmly rooted in our mission and strategically implemented.

None of what we have accomplished this past year, and none of what we plan would be possible without “the Backus family”: our employees for the hard work and dedication they have exhibited in the past year; the Backus Medical Staff for embracing new technologies while continuing to put the interests of their patients first; the Backus Auxiliary, an energetic group that benefits the Hospital in countless ways; our Volunteers, who help improve the patient experience day in and day out; and our Board of Trustees, whose leadership is what made last year’s accomplishments possible and whose direction will be vital to our success in the future.

We are, indeed, united in our vision.

Carlos B. Cook, III, Chairman of the Board
Thomas P. Pipicelli, President and Chief Executive Officer