How a Texas community saved its hospital — and vice versa

In the early 2000s, no one in Jacksboro, Texas thought much of Faith Community Hospital, the fifty-year-old hospital in the center of town. The building was substandard. Staff morale was low. Patients preferred to drive thirty miles or more to Fort Worth or Wichita Falls for care. And when the hospital flunked a Medicare inspection due to mold and asbestos, voters rejected a bond issue to build a new hospital by a 3-to-1 margin.Then, in 2010, Frank Beaman came to town, taking on the role of Faith’s CEO with a keen understanding of what was at stake. Rural hospitals are closing across the country — 71 in the last five years, 10 in Texas alone — devastating the health and the economies of small towns.Beaman, an experienced hospital administrator, was determined to keep this hospital open. In central Texas — a region of ranching, oilrigs, and hunting — people need high-quality healthcare close at hand. But to survive, the hospital would need the one thing it didn’t have: the confidence and support of the people of Jacksboro. Beaman knew that his first job would be to raise standards within the hospital. Along with sprucing up the place with fresh paint and new flooring, Beaman took a good look at his staff.Comparing the operation to a boat, he recalls, “There were people hanging off the side of the boat who needed to get in the boat. There were people in the boat holding oars, but rowing in the wrong direction. They just needed training. But the ones sitting there with a drill, who would just as soon see the boat sink — and we had several — needed to go.”Beaman let employees and staff know that “if we’re going to survive, it’s going to be because of you.” He launched a policy of zero tolerance for negative attitudes or interactions.