Arcachon Basin: “The Wallerstein private hospital wants to offer the best and widest range of care possible”

Philippe Cruette took over from Bernard Judet de la Combe as director of the Wallerstein private hospital in Arès, in the northern Arcachon basin, on May 26. After serving as CEO of the Bordeaux-Nord group for four years, he aims to strive to provide the best possible healthcare.

He took up his duties on May 26: Philippe Cruette, 48, after sixteen years spent within the Bordeaux-Nord group (GBNA Santé), which owns several clinics and polyclinics, as well as establishments in healthcare training, took over from Bernard Judet de la Combe as director of the private Wallerstein hospital in Arès. Interview.

Philippe Cruette, how did you come to work at the Arès healthcare facility?

We all know each other in the small world of healthcare. I knew Ms. de la Béraudière [Editor's note: Pilar de la Béraudière, president since 2006 of the association Les Amis de l'œuvre Wallerstein , which owns the Arésien establishment] and also Bernard Judet de la Combe. My arrival here was therefore quite natural. Bernard Judet de la Combe, who had run the hospital since 2010, wanted to hand over. So we have been together for a few months to make the transition.

The Arès clinic belongs to a foundation, which is not the same as the Bordeaux-Nord group (GBNA Santé), where you come from. Do you feel any differences?

I worked for sixteen years within the Bordeaux-Nord group, which was originally a family group whose goal has always been to provide healthcare. I grew up in this dynamic, and I find this DNA here. The Wallerstein Private Hospital also aims to offer the best and broadest range of healthcare possible. Once again, the most important thing is the healthcare offered. But both the clinic and the nursing home belong to a foundation.

How much does this establishment weigh?

There are 450 employees here, 130 hospital beds, and 80 nursing home beds. We have about forty practitioners, including sixteen in the emergency room. We perform about 300 deliveries per year, with five obstetrician-gynecologists, and we have around 12,000 to 14,000 hospital stays per year. And there are 20,000 to 22,000 emergency room visits every year.

"There is real ambition here and the board of directors is looking to the long term."

What is your roadmap?

The establishment must regain a certain stability, which is our economic strength. We already have a new Director of Care, Adeline Balan. For the moment, I am in a diagnostic phase, until the end of the year, for everything related to the organization and functions (technical, quality, risk management, etc.), before developing a strategic plan. There is real ambition here, and the board of directors is looking to the long term. We have been here for a century.

What are the emergencies?

There are constantly emergencies within a healthcare facility! For example, it's important to quickly recruit a vascular doctor.

And what about the emergency department?

The emergency department is perfect. It's the facility's strong point. A lot of work has been done to renew the entire medical staff. We have young, competent teams who are helping the clinic grow. This facility is essential for everyone in the northern Arcachon Basin, which has approximately 70,000 residents, and also part of the Médoc region. The goal is to provide the entire population with a comprehensive healthcare solution.

"We are seeing a rate of patient flight to the mainland. One of the challenges for us is keeping them here."

Are there any gaps in this offer?

There's no gap, but we're seeing a rate of patient outflow to the mainland. One of the challenges for us is keeping them here, so we have to do everything we can to provide local care. We can do more ophthalmology, more orthopedics... We can, in fact, do "more" of just about everything. So we need to recruit a few additional practitioners.

And when there are more serious, more pointed things?

Patients, for example, for gastroenterology, must find all the procedures they need here, providing a more fluid circuit for more specific, more advanced needs. To achieve this, we must work on partnerships with other establishments. We have ties with the Tivoli Cancer Center, with Bordeaux Nord for urology, and I also want to build more ties with the Pellegrin University Hospital in Bordeaux. We must expand and move upmarket in the North Bassin region.