Heartland Regional Medical Center is changing the way it provides emergency medical treatment.

Since 2007 emergency physician services have been provided by Team Health, a clinical outsourcing agency. Now Heartland is looking to staff the emergency department themselves.

Physician Administrator Dr Rebecca Preston says this will be the 28th specialty for Heartland.

Preston says it will allow emergency physicians to develop stronger relationships with other physicians and the community.

“When you come to the hospital and they share a medical record, if there’s a question or an issue, they can talk together about you and about the best care you can get,” Preston said in an interview.

“Part of being able to do that, is being able to develop relationships among the doctors. They know each other, they know the style of practice, and they’re very comfortable with sharing care.”

The change is coming fairly quickly. Preston says they hope to hire nearly two dozen new medical staff members.

“We will need a total of probably 13 or 14 emergency room physicians. We’ll also have mid-level providers, like physician’s assistants and nurse-practitioners in our emergency department, and we’re probably looking for seven or eight of those.

Preston says they have a well-developed recruitment plan for the new hires.

“Some of the current Team Health physicians may choose to apply for positions here. We have several who have come and moved in and live in our community, and they may decide to make that transition. We also have a very effective recruiting team here. We will be going out and speaking with current emergency room leadership at some of their meetings. We will be going to the residency programs at teaching institutions throughout the Midwest.”