American Hospital Association Names Mason General One of Nation’s "2010 Most Wired" Hospitals
Mason General Hospital, for the third straight year, has received national acclaim for its health information technology, according to the results of the American Hospital Association’s Journal’s “2010 Most Wired Survey.” Hospitals & Health Networks conducts the voluntary Most Wired Survey annually, and uses its survey results to name the nation’s Most Wired hospitals and health systems. This award is based on the facility’s level of achievement in four focus areas: business and administrative management, clinical quality and safety, care continuum, and infrastructure. Results indicate Most Wired hospitals show better outcomes in patient satisfaction, risk-adjusted mortality rates, and other key quality measures through the use of information technology (IT).
“Once again, we are pleased to receive the prestigious ‘Most Wired’ hospital designation. This year we received the award not based on our size, but solely on our capabilities in providing comprehensive IT,” said Eric Moll, CAO at Mason General Hospital. “It reflects the ongoing hard work of the staff who move our technology to the cutting edge of the industry. We are very committed to making sure we have the most advanced tools for providing the best in patient care.”
Mason General Hospital continues to upgrade its technology, including electronic medical record-keeping of patient information. “This designation doesn’t just focus on IT equipment, but rather all areas of patient care” said Tom Hornburg, IT director at MGH. “Technology makes patient care more efficient, as it focuses on immediate delivery of the patient’s needs, making for better outcomes.”
MGH is approved by the Joint Commission, is a licensed and accredited acute care hospital with a level four emergency trauma designation. There are more than 100 physicians on staff in 21 specialties, caring for all of Public Hospital District No. 1. For more information go to www.MasonGeneral.com.
Awards and Recognition
MASON GENERAL HOSPITAL NAMED 2009 MOST WIRED HOSPITAL
Mason General Hospital was recently named to the nation’s “Most Wired – Rural” hospital, according to the results of the 2009 Most Wired Survey and Benchmarking Study released in the July issue of Hospitals & Health Networks magazine. MGH also received this award in 2008.
The 100 Most Wired hospitals show better outcomes in patient satisfaction, risk-adjusted mortality rates, and other key quality measures through the use of information technology (IT), according to a new analysis. Marking its 11th year, the Most Wired Survey and Benchmarking Study continues to lead the field in analyses and benchmarking of healthcare IT.
“Once again, we are very excited to receive the prestigious ‘Most Wired’ hospital designation,” said Eric Moll, CAO at Mason General Hospital. “It reflects the on-going hard work of the staff to move our technology to the cutting edge of our industry. We are very committed to making sure we have the most advanced tools for providing the best patient care.”
Mason General Hospital continues to upgrade its technology including electronic medical record-keeping of patient information. “This designation doesn’t just focus on IT equipment but rather all areas of patient care” said Tom Hornburg, IT Director at MGH. “Technology makes patient care more efficient as it focuses on immediate delivery of the patient’s needs, making for better outcomes.”
“As the health reform debate continues, it’s clear that IT will play an even more important role in the health system of tomorrow,” says Rich Umbdenstock, president and CEO of the American Hospital Association (AHA). “Most Wired hospitals help illustrate IT in action—improving efficiency, quality and safety of care while helping to control costs.”
The Most Wired Survey is conducted annually by Hospitals & Health Networks magazine, the journal of the AHA, which uses the results to name the 100 Most Wired hospitals and health systems. It focuses on how the nation’s hospitals use information technologies for quality, customer service, public health and safety, business processes and workforce issues.
HOSPITAL AWARDED RECOGNITION IN DIABETES EDUCATION
Mason
General Hospital’s Diabetes Wellness Center was recently awarded continued
Recognition from the American Diabetes Association for its self-management education
program. This prestigious award recognizes MGH for offering high-quality education
services to its patients.
This was a
voluntary process on MGH’s part, but once recognized, the award assures
that approved education programs have met the National Standards for Diabetes
Self-Management Education criteria. Programs that achieve Recognition status
have a staff of knowledgeable health professionals who can provide the most advanced
information about diabetes management for patients.
“The
criteria gives professionals a national standard by which to measure the quality
of the services they provide,” said Sue Barwick, R.N., certified diabetes
educator, and director of the Diabetes Wellness Center at MGH. “And,
of course, it helps consumers to identify these quality programs.”
Professionals
and staff who have contributed to this exclusive award are Michelle Merrin, Diabetes
Wellness Center assistant; Kris Davies, Quality Improvement assistant; Terry
Mallory, ARNP, diabetes nurse educator; Sarah Fulkerson, RD, certified diabetes
educator; Candy Mattson, RD, diabetes dietitian educator; Mark Schlauderaff,
MD, Diabetes Wellness Center director; Diane Stillman, RN, COO, Diabetes
Wellness Center advisory board member; Doug Haskins, Diabetes Wellness Center
advisory board member; Bob Appel, CEO; and Eric Moll, CFO. Additional professionals who regularly
serve as expert faculty in the outpatient Living Well With
Diabetes classes are John Rice, M. D, James Wright, M.D.
, Gretchen Rice, MSW, and Cheryl Woods, PT.
MGH DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING RECEIVES NATIONAL ACCREDITATION
Mason General Hospital’s Diagnostic Imaging department was recently awarded another three-year term of accreditation as the result of a recent survey by the American College of Radiology (ACR).
The survey is based on a peer-review evaluation of the department that is conducted by board-certified physicians and medical physicists who are experts in the field of radiology and diagnostic imaging. They assess the qualifications of the healthcare personnel and the facility’s equipment, and report this to the ACR’s Committee on Accreditation, which then provides a comprehensive report of the facility based on the survey’s findings. “We are honored and proud that our Diagnostic Imaging department is receiving this award again,” said Bob Appel, CEO at MGH. “It reflects a standard that we encourage all the hospital departments to work towards.”
The ACR is a national organization serving more than 32.000 radiologists, radiation oncologists, and nuclear medicine and medical physicists with programs that focus on medical imaging and radiation oncology, and the delivery of comprehensive healthcare services.
MGH is approved by the Joint Commission, is a licensed and accredited acute care hospital with a level four emergency trauma designation, and is a “Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence,” with its minimally-invasive Lap-Band procedure. There are more than 100 physicians on staff in 21 specialties, caring for all of Public Hospital District No. 1.
MASON GENERAL HOSPITAL NAMED 2008 “MOST WIRED” HOSPITAL
Patient Satisfaction Higher at “Most Wired” Hospitals
Mason General Hospital was recently named to the nation’s “Most Wired – Rural” hospitals, according to the results of the 2008 Most Wired Survey and Benchmarking Study released in the July issue of Hospitals & Health Networks magazine.
The 100 Most Wired hospitals show better outcomes in patient satisfaction, risk-adjusted mortality rates, and other key quality measures through the use of information technology (IT), according to a new analysis. Marking its 10th year, the Most Wired Survey and Benchmarking Study continues to lead the field in analyses and benchmarking of healthcare IT.
“We are very excited to receive the prestigious ‘Most Wired’ hospital designation,” said Eric Moll, CFO at Mason General Hospital. “It reflects the hard work of the staff to move our technology to the cutting edge of our industry. We are very committed to making sure we have the most advanced tools for providing the best patient care.”
Mason General Hospital most recently upgraded its technology to include electronic medical record-keeping of patient information. “This designation doesn’t just focus on IT equipment but rather all areas of patient care” said Tom Hornburg, IT Director at MGH. “Technology makes patient care more efficient as it focuses on immediate delivery of the patient’s needs, making for better outcomes.”
“Health IT has shown incredible promise in helping us improve the quality and safety of the care hospitals deliver every day,” said Rich Umbdenstock, president and CEO of the American Hospital Association. “The results of the “Most Wired” survey confirm that today’s patient also understands the benefits of IT in improving care and improving the overall hospital experience.”
“Today’s results add to the growing evidence that the appropriate use of IT can enhance both quality and patient satisfaction,” said Alden Solovy, executive editor of Hospitals & Health Networks magazine. “Most Wired” hospitals are proving the fundamental value of information technology.
The analysis shows that better outcomes occur among high tech hospitals, but it does not establish a direct causal relationship between technology and outcomes. The satisfaction analysis was conducted jointly with Press Ganey Associates, and the quality analysis was conducted jointly with Thomson Healthcare.