Published on November 18, 2011

Excellence In Patient Satisfaction

GMC-DeWitt’s E.D. a 3-time award winner

Patients who come to the Genesis Medical Center, DeWitt Emergency Room may not realize they have entered a place where near-perfect patient satisfaction is the norm.

Once they’re back home, however, they fill out surveys and give this rural hospital some of the best satisfaction scores in the nation.

For the third time in five years, the hospital’s Emergency Department (E.D.) has earned national recognition as a 2011 Summit Award winner for outstanding patient service. The award by Press Ganey Associates recognizes facilities that have sustained the highest level of customer satisfaction – in the top 5 percent -- for three or more consecutive years.

Of the winners, the DeWitt hospital was one of only 20 hospitals to receive the award for the E.D. The hospital’s E.D. also won in 2010 and 2006.

“Everyone asks us how we do it,” said Deb Fox, Manager of the E.D. and Ambulance Service. “For us to earn this award three times means we’ve had almost nine years of patient satisfaction scores in the 95th percentile or above.

“What it comes down to is this: We have a great team -- the nurses, the doctors and the leadership all work well together. Patients are treated with respect and as they would want their family member to be treated.”

Typically, patient satisfaction scores are in the 99th percentile each quarter in all areas of the E.D.

“National awards like this challenge us to work even harder for our patients, and our journey of excellence continues,’’ said Jeff Cooper, the hospital’s President. “To sustain these results as a top performer, our E.D. employees and physicians must dedicate themselves each day to providing the best care for our patients.”

Genesis, DeWitt has 4,581 E.D. visits and 18,240 outpatient visits each year. Because of its small size, the 13-bed hospital doesn’t have a high inpatient census. Instead, most patients come to the hospital via the Emergency Room or on an outpatient basis.

“As a result, the award reflects the dedication of all staff -- from maintenance and environmental services to the physicians, nurses and paramedics,” Cooper said. “The survey results really take into account every department that interacts with the E.D. patient, including the Lab, Radiology, Registration and Ambulance.”

Because it doesn’t always have the round-the-clock support services of a larger hospital, staff often goes above and beyond to make sure the future needs of patients and families are in place before they leave, Fox said. That has included, for example, finding a way to notify someone serving overseas in the military of their parent’s emergent condition.

When the hospital earned the Summit Award in 2010, leaders and staff knew it would be difficult to hold the gains. Employee engagement became the focus, Fox said.

An action plan included a new mentorship program for newly hired staff; opportunities to advance in their careers and participate in decisionmaking; and, consistent feedback with leaders to understand their role in the organization’s success.

“These initiatives have been extremely effective,” Fox said. “Survey results show our employees are more engaged, and as a result, we continue to exceed our patients’ expectations.”

Many improvements

Since 2006, the E.D. has been staffed around the clock, every day, with physicians from Acute Care, Inc. of Ankeny, Iowa. From trauma and critical care to pediatric and neonatal certifications, E.D. staff has undergone extensive training.

Heart attack, stroke and trauma alerts are activated to give patients a coordinated system of care between the Genesis campuses, often linking them to specialists in the Quad Cities, if needed. DeWitt is a Level 4 Community Trauma Center.

The Ambulance Department, with three ambulances, works as a team with the E.D. to serve more than 15 townships and five towns.

From computerized point-of-care to bar code medication administration, its technology also is ahead of the curve of most rural hospitals. In one of the latest technologies, Computerized Provider Order Entry helps eliminate the potential for error because physicians can now enter their orders directly into the computer system.