Like a Boss: Isaac Palmer, CHRISTUS Health

This episode of Like a Boss is turning its eyes on one of the major industries in Bossier – the healthcare industry – with its guest CHRISTUS Health Shreveport-Bossier CEO Isaac Palmer.

Host, and publisher of BIZ. Magazine, Sean Green sits down with Isaac in one of the rooms in the brand new CHRISTUS Bossier Emergency Hospital on Viking Drive in Bossier City.

Opened in the middle of February, the micro-hospital is the first of its kind in the state of Louisiana. The new hospital includes an emergency department, six short-stay inpatient beds, advanced imaging and diagnostic laboratory services, outpatient imaging and lab services. Isaac said the new facility is a recognition of where healthcare is moving.

“It’s getting away from your long, lengthy hospital stays. We decided to give Bossier a hospital without all the extras that allows us to offer care that is quicker and get the patient the exact care they need,” he explained.

It has proven to be effective as patients have given positive feedback on quick wait times and transition from ER to rooms.

“The community told us they wanted a choice and what we’ve known from a strategy perspective is we had to have a presence in Bossier. But we didn’t want more big box hospitals,” Isaac said.

Part of CHRISTUS’ success is down to the focus on patient care. Isaac said that drives almost everything they do.

“You see it in our mission statement and our core values to extend the healing ministry of Jesus Christ — we want to deliver compassionate care, we want to deliver on excellence with integrity. Our patients say they feel it in the care. But it starts with the people and our people have to feel it, and they do.”

“What I try to manage is the speed of growth,” he added. “We have been growing so fast, we’re here talking about Bossier and while we were building Bossier, the (Highland) campus was growing. So my job is to make sure we’re growing at a pace we can handle and all the 1,000 people in the organization are moving at the same pace.”

In addition to the new Emergency Hospital, CHRISTUS has existing services with a fitness center, cancer treatment center, physician office in south Bossier and newly-opened outpatient physical therapy office. They are also looking to expand their footprint even more in the future.

“Things are secretive now,” Isaac said. “I gave you a hint with outpatient. If you think about services done outside a hospital, that’s where we want to be. We believe it’s more effective medicine, it’s more affordable medicine.”

He noted that CHRISTUS chose to make this investment in Bossier because it’s a great market and a great place to live.

“We see a lot of people moving to Bossier as a place to live, we knew we wanted to be where the people are heading.”

In bringing the facility to Bossier, Isaac said working with the city officials was “excellent” from the point of conception, explaining, “We sat down with the mayor to walk through our plans and he was very open to it and the EMS chiefs were happy we were here and they were excited. I like to say that if I have to get involved we have a problem and I didn’t have to get involved.”

But what does Isaac like about Bossier? He said he’s a fan of the shopping and places to eat.

“I have reservations at 2Johns and I bought my four-wheeler from Bossier City,” he laughed. Bossier has everything you need in a town. From a living perspective, it’s a great town to live in.”

Want more Like a Boss episodes? Check out our last episode on Britney Spivey, owner of Simply Chic Boutique.