Wenatchee Valley Medical Center’s outstanding results in surgical care were highlighted during a recent presentation with the Washington State Hospital Association, which invited WVMC staff members to share their top-rated practices with their peers from other healthcare facilities throughout Washington. WVMC employees taking part in the WSHA Safe Table web conference on June 30 included Jeri Winters, RN, Infection Control Coordinator; Laurie Bergman, RN, Utilization Review Coordinator; Kelly DeWolf, RN, Surgery Manager; Deb Andre, RN, Recovery Room Manager; and Casey Brown, RN, Quality & Education Manager.

“Wenatchee Valley Medical Center's consistent achievement of 100-percent scores on Hospital Compare Surgical Measures is an impressive result of the staff's focus on patient safety,” said Carol Wagner, vice president for patient safety at the Washington State Hospital Association. “Their willingness to share strategies for success with other hospitals as part of the hospital association's learning collaborative will benefit surgical patients across the state.”

Wenatchee Valley Hospital, an integral member of the Wenatchee Valley Medical Center family, has consistently achieved 100 percent on Hospital Compare and Surgical Care Improvement Project measures, making it the best performing hospital in Washington and among the top ranked in the nation.

“This is a wonderful statement of commitment to high quality care by a team of people administrating a very complex process,” said Dr. David Weber, CEO & Board Chairman for WVMC.

Kevin Gilbert, Director of Surgical and Hospital Operations, says the high-achieving success is due to a strong “can-do attitude” shared by doctors, nurses and everyone else on staff. “To them the goal was clear that they were giving our patients the safest and best outcomes healthcare offers.”

The team presented Wenatchee Valley Hospital’s strategies for achieving high-quality care and service, including use of Surgical Checklist and Pre-Operative Order forms and Quality Oversight and Quality Metrics committees. In addition, the following “Keys to Our Success” were also shared:

•          Patient Safety and Quality Improvement are an integral part of the WVMC culture

•          Use of multidisciplinary Surgical Care Improvement Project team

•          Staff and physician education and re-education

•          Staff driven changes

•          Surgery management actively involved

•          Surgical Care Improvement Project is integrated into daily routines