AtlanticCare CEO touts progress on Vision 2030 and tackling big problems

A little over a year ago, Michael Charlton, president and CEO of AtlantiCare, outlined an ambitious vision to transform the health system in Atlantic City, N.J.

Dubbed “Vision 2030,” Charlton outlined a plan with bold goals of improving the life span of residents in the region, many of whom have low incomes. He announced new partnerships with Oracle to revamp the system’s technology and Cleveland Clinic to expand cancer care. AtlantiCare is partnering with the Drexel University College of Medicine to build a new medical school in Atlantic City.

In an interview with Chief Healthcare Executive®, Charlton says he’s pleased with the system’s progress in its Vision 2030 plans.

“We are right on track,” Charlton says. “And you know, the momentum is building every day.”

“There's so many initiatives out there that are really fundamental that we put in place last year, that we're really starting to get and see the benefits of now. So that's been incredibly impactful, not just for the health system but the community,” he says.

(See part of our conversation in this video. The story continues below.)

‘This is transformational’

Charlton launched the Vision 2030 initiative not long after becoming CEO of AtlantiCare, a system which operates two hospitals with a total of about 600 beds, along with more than 100 healthcare locations across southern New Jersey. Charlton became CEO in October 2023, after serving in an interim capacity for a few months.

The health system has been trying to tackle some of the stubborn problems affecting the region, including food insecurity and boosting the low health rankings in Atlantic County.

The health system’s partnership with Oracle is “probably the biggest initiative that AtlantiCare has ever had,” Charlton says.

Investing almost $100 million, Oracle has completely overhauled the health system’s information technology systems.

“Oracle has just been an incredible partner for us,” Charlton says. “This is transformational.”

AtlantiCare has started deploying AI-powered clinical documentation for primary care physicians, becoming one of the first to use Oracle’s new solution. The technology records the conversation between doctors and patients and provides a summary of the visit in the electronic health record, saving a lot of time for the physicians.

In early testing, the technology is cutting clinical documentation time for those physicians by more than 40%, which is saving them 90 minutes to two hours per day.

“That is time charting at the end of the day that they no longer have to do,” Charlton says. “We have literally seen physicians ecstatic, because they get to go home on time. They get to see their kids’ games and plays and sports. They have family time, downtime. They're not home doing typically what we're calling the pajama time documenting. So that's been incredible.”

As the new documentation tools are implemented in the hospital, Charlton says AtlantiCare is expecting documentation time to be reduced by 40% to 50% in the nursing units, “which is going to solve many problems.”

“From a patient perspective, it puts a nurse back to the bedside doing what nurses are engaged to do, take care of patients. That's what's in their heart. That's the heart of the organization,” he says.

Providers aren’t the only ones who have enjoyed the new documentation system. Patients are giving it high marks, Charlton says.

“We've had comments like, you know, ‘Love my doctor, but it's the first time here she has looked at me in three years that she hasn't been typing, or he hasn’t been typing.’ So, on both sides of the equation, we see the positive benefit of what's coming, and that's only going to get better,” Charlton says.

AtlantiCare is also phasing in Oracle tools that can query the electronic health records and provide an executive summary of patients coming in for outpatient appointments. Eventually, the tools will be incorporated for inpatient stays, as well.

Working with Cleveland Clinic

A year into the partnership with the Cleveland Clinic, Charlton says, “It’s been phenomenal.”

“Both organizations communicate on a daily basis at the deepest levels, on behalf of our patients,” Charlton says.

Cleveland Clinic brings a global perspective in the latest in cancer research and treatment, he says. And he says the organization has delivered on its pledge to bring top-notch cancer care to southern New Jersey.

Plus, this helps the system provide better services to patients closer to home, and helps AtlantiCare keep patients who may be looking for cancer care at hospitals in Philadelphia, about 60 miles away.

“We take care of a large portion of southern New Jersey, and this gives us the ability to really take our game to a higher level without transitioning out of the community,” he says. “So it's been a phenomenal relationship so far.”

AtlantiCare is also getting another boost with the affiliation with the Cleveland Clinic. The health system is attracting more top talent, including the recruiting of two top surgical oncologists recently.

“The ability to build out key programs with world-class physicians and teams because of this affiliation has been impactful,” he says.

More broadly, AtlantiCare has also seen more success in finding and keeping talent because of the Vision 2030 initiatives, which includes the plans for a new medical school in partnership with Drexel and Stockton University. AtlantiCare is also expanding its main campus with a new cardiac tower, emergency department, and post-acute rehabilitation center.

Newly recruited staff are excited about the Vision 2030 plans, and the goals are resonating with employees who have been with the system.

“I think Vision 2030 has really redefined the purpose of this organization, and we've seen a significant decline in people that are leaving the organization,” Charlton says.

Meeting Dr. Oz

Mehmet Oz, MD, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, visited AtlantiCare in July and spent several hours in the region. Oz met with staff across the system, and he also visited a Federally Qualified Health Center, where Oz questioned and listened to a host of staff members.

Charlton says they spoke about the need for better funding, and he voiced his concerns about looming reductions in Medicaid. About 40% of AtlantiCare’s patients rely on Medicaid, Charlton says. Oz has said the goal is to reform Medicaid, and that he aims to protect the program for those in need.

Still, Charlton says he’s concerned about the impact of reduced funding from Medicaid. But he also says there needs to be wider changes in federal support for health care.

“What I will say, and I will yell it from the top of the mountain, the funding mechanism for all of health care is broken,” he says.

Charlton says he was impressed with the probing questions that Oz asked doctors and staff at AtlantiCare. While he says there were some points of disagreement, Charlton says he has met other CMS administrators, and Oz impressed him as someone who is “looking to move the needle."

“Dr. Oz did not come off as somebody who's looking just to solve the problem where the symptom is,” Charlton says. “He's looking to get to the root cause. So right now, I am highly optimistic that we'll have our opportunity to reshape the future.”

Charlton is also optimistic about AtlantiCare’s prospects of meeting its goals in the Vision 2030 initiative.

“We're done partially solving problems,” Charlton says. “The hope is that we're going to be able to stand on stage in five years and talk about how we transformed healthcare in this country.”