From left to right are Kelly Kooser, Manager of Med Surg; Charlene Bennett, Manager of Family-Centered Maternity Suite; Victoria Stevens, MS staff nurse; Mitzi Wiltison, Diabetes Education; Joe Martin, ICU staff nurse; Kendra Thayer, Chief Nursing Officer and Vice President of Clinical Services; Jeannie Miller, Senior Director Clinic Operations; Kim Gordon, Director of Nursing; and Jenna Kidwell, Cardiac/Pulmonary Rehab staff nurse at Garrett Regional Medical Center.
Becker’s Hospital Review, an independent trade journal covering the medical industry, recently recognized Garrett Regional Medical Center (GRMC) as one of the top 350 hospitals in the United States for effective communication among its nursing staff.
The list of effective nurse communications within hospitals was determined by evaluating data compiled by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) through its Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems.
GRMC was the only hospital in Maryland to make the list of 350 facilities.
CMS shares 10 Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) star ratings based on publicly reported HCAHPS measures. The nurse communication rating combines data from three HCAHPS survey questions and summarizes how well patients feel that their nurses explained things clearly, listened carefully to the patient, and treated the patient with courtesy and respect.
The HCAHPS is geared to helping hospitals improve patient care by creating incentives to improve the quality of care, producing comparable data on patient perspectives, and increasing transparency with healthcare to make the public more accountable. HCAHP surveys are sent to random patients throughout the year. Hospitals may use survey results to improve their approach to patient care through additional staff training or departmental changes.
“We actively work with our clinical staff to encourage positive, productive communications with patients and their families,” says Kendra Thayer, Chief Nursing Officer and Vice President of Clinical Services at Garrett Regional Medical Center and Potomac Valley Hospital. “Keeping patients aware of clinical processes and answering questions about their diagnoses is vitally important to providing care of the highest quality, which every patient deserves.”
GRMC is among the most recognized hospitals in the state of Maryland, achieving awards regarding care through agencies that vet facilities for patient care and safety. Notable recognitions include numerous A grades from the Leapfrog Group, a public service organization that grades hospitals throughout the country on patient safety; US News and World Report, which has recognized the hospital’s subacute unit for 10 straight years, its orthopedic surgery department for the past two years, and most recently its maternity care unit as among the best in the country; and recognition through the Chartis Center for Rural Health through an annual Performance Leadership Award.
