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VEPMG Congratulates Mercy Medical Center Merced on Patient Satisfaction Success
Apr 26th, 06
Emergency Department showed most improvement in PS scores in 35-site challenge - Valley Emergency Physicians Medical Group (VEPMG) today issued a statement of congratulations for Mercy Medical Center Merced on its recent success in the Lloyd Dean Challenge. Mercy Medical Center Merced showed the most improvement in Patient Satisfaction among the 35 Catholic Healthcare West sites with Emergency Departments. VEPMG provides Emergency Physician services for Mercy Medical Center Merced.
"Patients in emergency rooms need the most compassionate care possible because of the critical nature of emergency medicine," said Steve Maron, MD, VEPMG's President of Corporate Development. "It can be very challenging to put patients and their families, more at ease during such trying times. For Mercy to show such dramatic improvement in Patient Satisfaction is a real achievement and one they should be proud to receive."
Patients were asked to rate Mercy in such areas as: comfort while waiting to be seen by the physician, staff taking their problem seriously and responding quickly to help, having their health condition checked immediately when arriving in the ED, and the appropriateness of the wait time in relation to their medical condition.
"The Emergency Doctors, from the contract with VEPMG, were really supportive from the beginning, said David Dunham, President Mercy Medical Center Merced. "They know that Patient Satisfaction is what we're all about. It is an honor and a privilege to serve our patients and we are pleased that the Emergency Doctors were an important part of this process."
Mercy's success was not something that occurred immediately; it came as a result of a long-term dedicated effort to provide better service for its patients. Starting in February 2005, the hospital started making dramatic changes by training and empowering staff to focus on patient needs and making the Emergency area more comfortable for patients and their families.
The hospital took the time to train staff to be proactive and to anticipate patient needs. Mercy added an additional nurse to assist patients while they are in the waiting room. The goal is to keep patients "comfortable and informed" while waiting. Everyone was asked to put themselves in their patients' place and ask what they themselves would need. Mercy is very pleased with how its staff responded, as demonstrated by this quality challenge.
In terms of physical changes, Mercy went to great lengths to make the waiting area more comfortable. They made physical renovations including new paint and improved signs in multiple languages. The staff was also given matching ER scrubs that clearly identify them as Mercy ER employees. The Medical Center realizes that it may be impossible to eliminate all wait time, but they are committed to decreasing patient anxiety and making the time pass as quickly as possible.
The Emergency Services Department at Mercy Medical Center Merced, which operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, currently has 22 beds to care for its patients. The department is staffed by physicians and nursing personnel who have received advanced training and certification in emergency medicine. It receives more than 40,000 ER visits annually.
VEPMG is owned and operated by practicing physicians and allied health providers and delivers emergency-medicine and primary-care physician services to 25 hospitals and 7 clinics in California. It is a California Professional Corporation, formed in 1981, and provides health care throughout northern and central California.
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