As more health care facilities grow to become “medical campuses” and medical meccas for care, they emulate hotels in their quality and delivery of health and wellness (H2H) services. Many build hotels or have partner hotels for medical guests and tourists on their health campuses. An innovative approach to blending hospitality and health care can be found in Orlando, where the RosenCare model could increase lodging revenue by using medical travel to the United States. In fact, in medical centers and hospitals, after the procedure (surgery or other treatment), approximately 75% of the services provided to patients are hospitality/hotel-related services (H2H) including dining, environmental, transportation, front desk, educational, and entertainment services.
Figure 1
In addition, medical centers may add wellness classes, culinary education, and spa operations, develop on-campus hotels (for Medical Tourism/Travel) which hospitality school graduates should be prepared to oversee. In addition, more Lodging professionals are becoming GMs of the entire health care campus enterprise who lead not only the traditional hospital facilities but also the hotel(s), spa, and wellness services, environmental services (eg, housekeeping); transportation services; parking, valet services; gift shops; employee markets; the grounds; snow removal; well-being education; and all of the dining venues, including room services (Figure 2). This is usually a vice president (VP) position on the health care campus and can provide challenges, excitement, personal fulfillment of caring, and very good pay and benefits within the six-figure salary range. In sum, hospitality schools prepare graduates to become GMs of hotels, and now graduates should think of becoming GMs/VPs of the health care (nonmedical) operations and H2H patient/guest services in the future (Figure 2 below).
See the interview with a former Ritz Carlton executive below.
Figure 2
The Opportunity for a New Campus Major: H2H
This is clearly a field for hospitality, business, and health care graduates that provides challenges and growth opportunities well into the future. Therefore, a new major on campuses that concentrates on hospitality bridging health care prepares graduates for a growing field, and a challenging career holds outstanding opportunities for future graduates of hotel and restaurant management schools and departments.
Focus on Careers: Interview with Bruce Thomas of Geisinger Medical Center
Bruce Thomas, MBA, Vice President of Hospitality Services for Geisinger Health System. He joined Geisinger in 1987 as Production Manager of Food Services at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, PA. In his current leadership role, Bruce has administrative oversight for Hospitality Services functions including the Digital Print and Mail Center, Volunteer and Retail Services, Environmental Services, Patient Transport, Valet and Shuttle Bus Services, Concierge Services, Food Services, Conference Center Operations, the Pine Barn Inn Hotel and Restaurant, and the Travel and Business Reimbursement Committee.
Prior to joining Geisinger, Bruce graduated in Hotel and Restaurant Management at Pennsylvania State University and earned his MBA at Bloomsburg University. Bruce utilizes his degrees in business and hospitality to help better serve those seeking healthcare assistance. The healthcare foodservice sector offers a tremendous variety of jobs and opportunities. Geisinger, for example, is a company committed to providing better health for the more than 1 million people it serves. The system includes 10 hospital campuses, a health plan with more than half a million members, a research institute, and the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine. Bruce is the 2011 winner of the IFMA Silver Plate Award for the healthcare sector and he received the Association for Healthcare Foodservice Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010. He is a past President of the National Association of Healthcare Foodservice Managers (HFM) and was instrumental in the creation of the Association for Healthcare Foodservice (AHF).
Conclusion
The preplanning of the medical journey leading up to the arrival at the medical/health/wellness destination begins a cascade of multiple H2H services to create a holistic and satisfying experience for the patient/guest. This can lead to long-lasting loyalty if performance in the entirety of the process is at the highest level. Hospitality and health care services will play a critical role for success. Current hotel and hospitality managers and graduates of hospitality programs, hotel schools or coming from the lodging industry focusing on this H2H intersection will be rewarded with challenging, satisfying, and lucrative careers. The path forward includes developing a core competency, a curriculum, and courses for this promising new career track. It will be an intersection of business management, health care administration, and hotel/hospitality business management theory and practice with industry hands-on learning.
Hospitality Bridging Healthcare or H2H services can create a satisfying experience for the patient/guest role for success in the entirety of the process. University graduates from hotel and hospitality schools that focus on this intersection of H2H will be rewarded with a growth-oriented, challenging, and lucrative career. This career will be an intersection of business management, health care administration, and hotel/hospitality business management theory and practice with an appropriate industry experience with hands-on learning in the hospitals, health care, and medical centers.
References: DeMicco, FJ (2016). Hospitality bridging healthcare (H2H): Medical tourism and wellness. Apple Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781315365671
Fred DeMicco
Northern Arizona University