Cullman Regional Medical Center

“We recruit high-caliber primary and specialty care physicians to help ensure our community can receive their healthcare locally,” says Lisa Courtney, VP of physician services at Cullman Regional.

In 2023 alone, the health system added fourteen new providers to its employed physician group including three primary care physicians.

With a focus on putting patients first, Cullman Regional is actively seeking ways to better enable its employed and independent physicians to provide care based on best practices. For its employed physician team, this means centralized scheduling, a state-of-the-art electronic health record (EHR) system, and offering ways for patients to stay in touch with providers and nurses between appointments.

According to Courtney, these initiatives are helping create a collaborative culture where effective communication with patients and families is a priority. The goal is to keep patients well-informed and engaged in their treatment plans. Fostering good communication among employed providers is also key for the hospital because it can lead to better patient care.

Cullman Regional’s efforts to strengthen and enhance the primary care services available locally are working, but they are only one part of healthcare accessibility. The health system has also added physician specialist care, imaging technology, and other outpatient services to minimize the need for patients to travel long distances outside their town and community to receive a continuum of care.

“At a time when healthcare in general is facing a challenging economic landscape, we’ve been able to maintain our growth initiatives by staying focused on high quality care, efficiency and recruiting premier physicians,” said CEO James Clements.

Over the last few years, Cullman Regional has experienced remarkable growth. When the health system opens a freestanding emergency department at its Hartselle facility in 2024, it will be the fourth major expansion project completed in just three years.