KRMC journal

Recent awards reflect continual improvement in KRMC Emergency Room services

Jul 15

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In June, Professional Research Consultants recognized the KRMC emergency department with two National Excellence in Healthcare awards. Professional Research Consultants (PRC) is in its 30th year of providing marketing research for hospitals across the United States.

The KRMC emergency room received a Platinum PRC Achievement Award for its dramatic improvements in patient satisfaction. The platinum award is PRC’s highest recognition of hospitals nationwide for achievement in improving care according to patient perceptions.

Additionally, KRMC was named as a 2010 PRC 4-Star Hospital for patient perception of emergency care. This designation is given annually to hospitals that score within the top twenty-five percent of hospitals nationwide whose patents rate the ER as “excellent” for overall quality of care.

These awards are based on ongoing PRC research, which involves confidential telephone interviews with patients to assess their perceptions of the care they received. The research findings are then presented to KRMC on a weekly basis to use in continuous improvement and enhancement of services and patient care.

In 2004, PRC began measuring patient satisfaction at the KRMC ER. At the time, the ER ranked low when compared to other hospitals nationally. Under the direction of ER Director, Janet Gode and ER Medical Director, Dr. Michael Ward, the KRMC emergency department began many structured initiatives to improve.

Since then, the KRMC ER has dramatically reduced emergency room wait times while improving the quality of patient services. These improvements are reflected in consistently higher patient satisfaction scores (see graph). Now, the KRMC ER ranks among the top twenty percent of hospital emergency departments nationwide for patient satisfaction. This is an extraordinary team accomplishment that not only involves the excellent ER staff but others throughout the hospital and community.

These achievements are not the end, however, as the KRMC ER continues to work on additional improvements. According to Ms. Gode, “Our ER is still a work in progress. No time to sit back and watch. We remain proactive and closely watch our weekly measurements. If there is a drop in one of the areas, the team is advised and we immediately take steps to figure out why. We then involve whomever it takes within the hospital to make immediate changes to correct the problem, which often involves new and creative team approaches.”

In congratulating the ER team, KRMC CEO Brian Turney said, “I really appreciate the efforts of our ER medical and administrative directors, Dr. Ward and Janet Gode, and their teams to improve our ER services in recent years. PRC’s awards recognize those efforts. I have challenged the ER team to continue their efforts to make our ER even better.”

Mr. Turney also thanked the community, saying, “I appreciate the thousands of patients who have taken the time over the years to provide us honest feedback about their service. That feedback is critical in helping us focus on the necessary changes to improve our services.”