“Jim” Cummings is well-known to the Brockport community as a former executive at Lakeside Health System since 2006, his last position being interim chief executive officer. On December 16 he officially began his duties as the new CEO of Oak Orchard Health, with health centers in Brockport, Albion, Lyndonville, and Warsaw. On December 23 freelance writer Doug Hickerson interviewed Cummings in his office at the Oak Orchard Community Health Center, 300 West Avenue in Brockport.
Doug Hickerson, interviewer
Why did you want this position? My career has been spent in leadership roles in a variety of health care settings, including three hospitals and a long term care nursing home situation. I have spent my entire career in the service of patients and communities for their health care needs. And when this position became available, I saw it as the next step in my career. I hope that I can provide the leadership necessary to continue the wonderful high quality health care services that Oak Orchard has delivered now for over forty years. We just celebrated the anniversary (in 2013). I want to continue that tradition of service to the community, but I also hope we can enhance those services into the future and grow the practice, including dental, medical, and optical.
What are the challenges right now? I can honestly say right now that things look very good for the organization. Dr. Hendershott has been here for a year-and -a-half as the interim CEO and I think he has positioned the organization well for the future. The challenge for any health care organization today is to deal with regulations and maintain some fiscal responsibility and success. He has really set the stage well for that, and now I think we just have to carry on.
Is there a difference in the clientele you serve here, compared to Lakeside Hospital? Actually, many of the patients who came to Lakeside Hospital for their care are the same patients that Oak Orchard serves in the region, although we do have outreach programs for agricultural workers and lower income people. Also, in our population 40 percent are insured by Medicare, Medicaid or commercial insurance, so we have a high level of insured population coming to us.
What are your sources of funding? We are a federally qualified health center and as such we do receive an annual grant of slightly over two million dollars from the federal government. This helps to subsidize the outreach programs for migrant workers and agricultural workers and to support the health sites in the regions that are convenient to them. We also apply for other grants. We have a good administrative staff who find and pursue grants for different programs. We have achieved successful results in that area.
What are the special needs of “migrant workers and agricultural workers”? (The migrant workers) are seasonal. When they come here they don’t have a physician, or dentist, or optometrist. Being here for a season, it’s difficult for them to seek health care services. So we reach out to them. We have mobile units. We go out to some of the camps where they live and bring (these services) straight to them.
What about personnel? That’s always a challenge in health care, the professional staff, be they dentists, physicians, medical doctors, or mid-level practitioners. We are recruiting several right now. It is challenging; it was challenging at Lakeside and Corning. There are more needs … than there is supply.
Is there competition for personnel? Do you offer competitive salaries? Yes, there is always competition. It’s a wide range, depending on whether you have someone just coming out of school, or someone who is a more experienced physician, dentist or mid-level. So far we have been able to compete with the area and offer competitive salaries. We just opened a Warsaw office and recruited a mid-level and a physician there. Now we are looking to fill a couple of other vacancies.
What support do you look for from the local community? I think that most of all we want the community to have knowledge of who we are, what we do, and our high quality standards. And, just that we be viewed as a very competent and qualified physician, dental, and optical practice, as good as any other in the area. We are always available to provide these services to those in need. We want the public to understand we are not just for low-income people.
Do you have any message for the community? First I would thank them for all their support of Lakeside Health System over the years and especially during the last year which was very difficult. Their show of support was appreciated. I hope that during my tenure here with Oak Orchard, I will make the opportunities to reach out to the community, to hold forums and determine what the people’s needs are and how we might best serve them.
A brief look back
What is your view of how the Lakeside Hospital situation turned out?
The board and administration at Lakeside were very pleased at the results of the efforts by University of Rochester Medical Center to rejuvenate the campus and put back a lot of the outpatient services we were trying to convert Lakeside to do. Now Strong is doing them, and I think over time their commitment is to add the services that are needed by the community. Currently Strong West has X-ray and imaging services as well as lab services. The plan right now is to have a free standing Emergency Department, and ambulatory surgery center. Those are the services that I know are in their plan.
Photo by Dianne Hickerson
