NEWBERRY — Newberry County Memorial Hospital has received 10 recognitions this year, including a joint replacement excellence award and recognition for having above the national average outcomes for safety and patient experience.
The most recent recognition came from Becker’s Hospital Review, which named NCMH to its 100 Great Community Hospital’s list. The list, which has been released since 2011, is made up of community hospitals from across the country.
Only one other South Carolina hospital — Roper Hospital — made this list.
“Quality measures are taken from the patients’ charts, and these are best practices that we look at each month, as far as patients who came in with specific diagnosis to make sure we are doing the right thing for that patient every single time,” said Meg Davis, director of quality with NCMH. “Those measures are measured nationally and compared to hospitals everywhere. Those measures are then placed in the Hospital Compare, which is CMS’s website, and it compares us to the other hospitals across the nation.”
Bruce Baldwin, CEO of NCMH, said the organizations that give out these recognitions look at three different areas: core measures (care standards), patient experience and safety.
Baldwin added that the patient experience measures not only overall satisfaction, but satisfaction with quietness, how the doctors and nurses communicated and even the food.
Davis said infection control was part of the safety portion, adding that NCMH had low infection control rates within the facility.
“These awards mean we are doing a lot of things right,” said John Pugh, member of the Board of Trustees and chairman of the Quality Committee. “We have made a lot of positive strides in the past few years, and the credit for that goes to the employees.
“Administration and others have done a good job motivating employees, but the employees are there. Nurses on the floor, doctors in the building, folks preparing food, folks cleaning the rooms,” Pugh added. “From top to bottom, the employees have done this for the hospital. We are very proud of them, and we hope to give them the tools that they need to get even better.”
Davis echoed Pugh’s statement, adding that these awards show that the NCMH employees are working hard to provide the best patient care to every patient who comes through the hospital’s doors. Baldwin also acknowledged the governing board, saying its members work hard to provide good direction and are involved in major decisions for the hospital.
“What it boils down to is you have safe, quality patient care, we have delivered each time to our patients. That is what the award says we are doing,” Baldwin said. “We work to be the best provider for our county and community, so people want to stay here. There is no reason to leave this town with a lot of the services that we provide.”