Volume 11, Issue 16 August 1, 2003
4th Quarter Employee Recognition Luncheon
Honors 125 Years of Service
Years of service awards are presented once a quarter to coincide with the closest hiring anniversary date for those being honored. This quarter ten employees with a combined 125 years of service were recognized. Those able to attend the luncheon are pictured on the front page of the newsletter website.
Jim Grettner - Lab Manager - 35 years
Linda McCrone - Medical Records - 15 years
Kristi Cramblit-Powers - Emergency - 15 years
Debbie Schlotfeldt - Emergency - 10 years
Dolly Goedhart - ICU - 15 years
Michelle Smasne - Surgical Services - 10 years
Elena VanDoren - Surgical Services - 5 years
Marty Zyph - Admitting - 10 years
Karen Walker - Laboratory - 5 years
Jill Nettleton - Patient Financial Services - 5 years
In This Corner by Jon D. Smiley, C.E.O.
By now I hope you know that Donna Dill has accepted the position of Director of the Family Birth Center. Please support Donna and all the team in the department as they continue to work to meet the needs of their families.
We are also welcoming two new Family Physicians who will be providing obstetrics services. Dr. Martin Dubek begins his practice in Grandview on Monday. Dr. April Biggs has already begun work at the Grandview Medical Center. If you are someone in your family is looking for a family physicians - both these doctors are currently accepting new patients - including moms to be.
Our search for more internal medicine physicians to serve the community continues. We have invited the physician most of you know who was here recently to take up permanent residence. When he left for another three month assignment he told me he would give it very serious consideration.
Preparations for the start of the Urology practice of Dr. Robert Kim also continue. Dr. Kim and his wife will visiting the community again in a few days to lay the groundwork for a successful opening in October.
I would like to thank you for continuing to work very hard on the opportunities of service we see every day at the hospital. We cannot succeed without a dedication to providing very good patient care and customer service at all times. Our Employee Recognition luncheon earlier this week was an excellent opportunity to say thank you to some of the individuals who have put in many years of excellent service here. Further down the page in this newsletter you will see Carol Allen's latest report on our customer service scores. Please take a moment and read this article. We listen to these scores because they do reflect how we are doing in putting the needs of those we serve first.
We have heard from Washington D.C. that work on the Medicare budget conference committee continues at a very slow pace. We will keep you posted via the hospital website and other sources.
Sports Physicals August 19th
Sunnyside High School & Middle School are looking to us again this summer for help in sports physicals for about 200 student athletes.
For the past four years we have assembled a group of volunteer physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners and employees to spent about 2-4 hours at the high school performing these physicals.
It is excellent public service for the hospital community to assist so many families so quickly. If you are willing to help - please contact Tom Lathen immediately. There is an urgent need for physicians and PAs especially this year.
Foundation Golf Tourney Nears
submitted by Tina Glockner
I just wanted to let everyone know that I will still be using the foundation office a couple
of times a week to finish up the golf tournament. After the tournament (August 16th)
I
will be completely moved out and Carol Allen will be taking on all of the responsibilities
of the foundation. I am starting a new chapter of my life...beginning Tuesday, August 22nd
as a full-time nurse.
Thank you to everyone for cheering me on and for all of the much needed support! I am
proud to have worked so closely with such a GREAT and dedicated leadership team and look
forward to taking care of our patients and their families!
We still have room for a couple teams on the golf tournament and can need more
employees willing to volunteer for a bit and help out. Click the email
link above and let me know what you would like to do.
All Staff Picnic August 21st
Get out your swim trunks and make plans now for the annual all staff picnic and swim party in Central Park August 21st. This event is brought to you by the Employee Relations Committee.
The picnic/BBQ will begin at 6:00 p.m. There will be a hospital-only swim party in the city pool from 7:45 to 9:45 p.m.
Please bring a dessert of a salad to share at the BBQ. This is for you and your family to come enjoy a night in the pool.
Women's Health Night in September
Please mark September 18th on your calendar for the 4th annual Women's Health Night. This year's event has been timed to be associated with the start of Sunshine Days in Sunnyside.
If you would like to help out with Women's Health Night and have not already been "volunteered" please contact this year's chair Sandra Linde.
Customer Service Report
The 2nd quarter patient satisfaction report from Press
Ganey from 04/03 - 06/03 is available on line at the Press Ganey website.
The Question Analysis reports as well as the patient comments from the
surveys were placed in all department mailboxes.
This quarters numbers are UP from last quarter - we're in
the 65th percentile. Our overall mean score for the standard questions is 86.5,
2.2 points higher that last quarter. Our
current score is 1.4 points higher than the Small Hospital. Data Base external
benchmark standard question score of 85.1.
This means that 35% of the Small Hospital Database hospitals have scores
higher than ours. Last quarter's
percentile rank was 38% if you recall.
Our current is 2.8 points higher than the ALL PG
Group external benchmark standard question score of 83.7.
This means that 15% of the ALL PG Group hospitals have scores higher that
ours. This is an increase from our percentile
rank from last period which was 60%.
56.2% of the responses to standard questions were VERY
GOOD, compared to 51.4% last period.
Showing you Care
Its been a difficult few months for lots of folks around the hospital, but your response to the Day of Caring Drive shows you still care about the community we serve. Thanks to everyone who has already brought items to help Lower Valley Crisis and Support Services in our Day of Caring Drive. Please note that the drive will continue a bit longer.
Items to bring include: deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, soap, lotion, tampons/pads, hair gel, games, cards, diapers, cotton balls, q-tips, baby wipes, bedding and towels/washcloths in good shape. There are decorated boxes in lounges and departments around the hospital. You can also take them to the Quality House if you prefer.
Questions? Contact Carol Allen. Be sure and stop by and greet Carol in her new office next door to Accounting.
Purchasing Recognized
Wendy Clapp, purchasing manager, was recently recognized by Brim Healthcare for her outstanding work. By careful planning and working with managers to plan for their needs, she was able to maintain at 80% or higher compliance with the Brim Broadlane Buying Contract.
This saves the hospital considerable dollars in purchases. It also helps standardize the equipment and supplies available for treatment of our patients.
Our hospital was at 88% compliance when Wendy was honored at the Brim Materials Management Conference in California.
Summer's Eve in the Park
The hospital has received tickets to Summer's Eve in the Park as part of our sponsorship of the event. If you would like two tickets please see Tom Lathen in the Quality House. First come first served.
Summer's Eve is an annual concert event that draws well over 1000 people to the Fairgrounds in Grandview. It will e Saturday, August 23rd at 5:00 p.m. In addition to The Kingsmen, local groups "The Dirty Rivers Blues Band" and "The Dazzling Suburbanites" will perform.