GALAX — Twin County Regional Hospital’s (TCRH) July 18 celebration for earning an “A” safety rating from the watchdog group “Leapfrog” was about the compassionate pursuit of patient health and well being. The community celebration featured remarks by Congressman Morgan Griffith, TCRH CEO Sudandra Ratnasamy, Chief Nursing Officer William Alley, Dr. Jamie Carlo-Demovich and Board of Trustees Member Dr. David Ritchie. The honor puts TCRH as one of 40 acute care hospitals with an “A” rating out of 71 acute care hospitals in the State.
“As you all know serving here in Twin County....rural health care is challenging and we have a lot of challenges left but when you have a group who communicates with patients...people who are scared, families who are worried and concerned, meeting them with a smile and understanding of their needs. Now we can tell them we have a grade A and are one of the safest hospitals in Virginia. As your congressman...I appreciate you serving my constituents and the people of the Twin County so well,” said Griffith. “Some of them probably come up from North Carolina! You’re not that far away. It really is an honor. I had nothing to do with the award. I didn’t do any of the work, you all did....your board of trustees, your doctors, your nurses, staff...you all earned this award. I’m here for one simple reason, to celebrate you all!”
On May 1 the non-profit announced the “A” Hospital Safety Grade. Leapfrog assigns an “A,” “B,” “C,” “D” or “F” grade to general hospitals across the country based on over 30 measures of errors, accidents, injuries, and infections as well as the systems hospitals have in place to prevent them. The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is the only hospital ratings program focused exclusively on preventable medical errors, infections, and injuries that kill more than 500 patients a day nationally. The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is peer-reviewed, fully transparent, and free to the public. Grades are updated twice annually, in the Fall and Spring.
“We all know that the quality of life improves when we have basic health care accessible to those in our communities and patient safety is at the forefront of what we do to care for our patients,” said CEO Ratnasamy. “I’m proud to say we are one of 40 hospitals in the State of Virginia to achieve an A. That is really amazing! Our future is bright because we are educated and committed to our patients.”
Alley told the group Leapfrog’s national grading indicators are highly recognized with 33 percent of some 3,000 organizations receiving an A rating. He said the non-profit watchdog group’s ratings are one of many ways to validate the ongoing self-evaluation at the facility focused on becoming better. He said the healthcare industry has six aims for quality which are patient safety, effectiveness, patient centered-ness, timeliness, efficiency and equity. He said the reason for the celebration was not from pride but a desire to let the community know how important it is their community hospital stands first and foremost on performance, which includes quality and safety.
Chief of Staff Dr. Carlo-Demovich’s talk on putting patients first captured the hard work and emotion shared by the team. She opened by noting her choice of profession, a pathologist, meant social settings were not her “forte.”
“Getting a A from Leapfrog is an amazing accomplishment. For our hospital. For our community. It insures we have the highest safety standards nationally for hospitals. Our patients may wonder just what does this mean. For them and our community as a whole this means you can come here as a patient or a family member and feel safe and secure knowing the entirety of our staff and hospital puts the patient and patient safety first... every moment from when they step through these doors and then step out...even after in outpatient settings.” said Carlo-Demovich. “Our patients can feel secure we have checked the boxes and are monitoring them from behind the scenes with a multitude of strategies and we have policies in place to protect them. They will receive compassionate, high-quality care in a safe environment with the highest standards nationally.”
She said for the staff and volunteers hard work was the sole reason these awards happen and thanked them for their hard work through numerous collaborations, putting in one hundred percent for the community and patients and for advocating for patients.
“We self-check ourselves without conflict as a team....without anyone taking offense. We self check ourselves constantly. It is truly amazing to see the team in action every day. That is what I really want the community to know about. Thank you for making sure patients and family feel safe to communicate that with you. Communication is the main key for putting patients and patient safety first. The way you present yourselves when you walk through the doors allows these families to talk with you. Lastly...you have heard this from me before...how an award like this happens is because all of you do not come here every day because you treat this as a job. You treat the patients like family and this hospital like a home.”
David Broyles may be reached at 276-779-4013 or on “X” at CarrollNewsDave
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