ROGERSVILLE –
When the nation’s hospital leaders are pondering ways to make each patient feel welcome and important, they can now turn their eyes to Hawkins County for a compass to guide them.
Hawkins County Memorial Hospital has earned a national award for ranking among the country’s best hospitals in achieving patient satisfaction. Press Ganey Associates, a nationally recognized company that partners with healthcare facilities to measure customer satisfaction, announced Tuesday that Hawkins County Memorial was a winner of the 2008 Compass Award.
Hawkins County Memorial is one of only three hospitals in its Press Ganey category – which includes 400 to 500 community hospitals – to win the Compass Award and one of only 34 facilities of any size to win. The Compass Award recognizes facilities that show the most improvement in overall patient satisfaction over two years.
“I’m so happy for our entire staff, for what they’ve accomplished,” said Fred Pelle, president of Hawkins County Memorial and a 26-year veteran of healthcare administration. “It’s one of the proudest moments I’ve had in my career. This really is the culmination of a total team effort.
“I’m not surprised we won, but I’m certainly grateful.”
Hawkins County Memorial came under the Press Ganey spotlight specifically for its scores in outpatient services. Pelle and the hospital’s leadership team held a celebration for all hospital employees Tuesday evening.
“We are proud partners of Hawkins County Memorial Hospital,” said Dr. Melvin Hall, president and chief executive officer of Press Ganey. “Their dedication to continuous improvement serves as a model for all.”
Pelle noted that the overarching hospital philosophies that led to the Compass Award dovetail neatly with Wellmont Health System’s mission to deliver superior health care with compassion and its vision to deliver the best health care anywhere. That is no mere coincidence, Pelle said.
“Everyone is just adhering to the purpose we set out to achieve, which is to deliver compassionate, superior care,” Pelle said. “It speaks to the integrity of our staff and their energy and enthusiasm in wanting to please our patients first and foremost. It’s their major concern.”
Press Ganey partners with more than 7,000 healthcare facilities, including more than 40 percent of U.S. hospitals, to measure patient satisfaction.
“I hear so often from people in the community about the genuine quality of employee we have at our hospital, how they feel like everyone here makes an extra effort to make them feel special,” Pelle said. “I know it sounds like a cliché, but I get goose bumps from some of the things I see our staff do.”
Pelle described a recent day when, in the emergency department, an injured mother was receiving care while her young child was nearby, scared to see her mother in pain.
“The doctor and nurse were tending to the mother, and the child was frightened,” Pelle said. “Another staff member in the vicinity picked up the child and walked around the room with her, holding her and reassuring her that everything was going to be OK.
“It was teamwork – and it was a glimpse of the kind of compassion members of our staff show every day. I think there are a lot of unselfish acts of kindness that go on here every day.”