Any time a staff grows, it is a good year. That was the case for Licking Memorial Health Systems, Rob Montagnese, president and CEO of the organization, said Tuesday during the hospital’s corporate breakfast.
LMHS’ grew to a staff of 1,700 and expanded to its Tamarack location to provide more convenient and efficient outpatient surgeries and services.
In 2013, the hospital was recognized for the 11th time as one of the top 100 hospitals in the nation by Truven Health Analytics; only six hospitals have earned the award more times than Licking Memorial Hospital. The hospital also earned Health Care’s Most Wired award for its continued success in information technology adoption throughout the organization.
Montagnese said he shared those and other milestones with the community during the breakfast to demonstrate how the hospital and its doctors are recognized for the quality of service they are providing.
“You won’t hear me talk about another Central Ohio hospital badly because I think they all do a nice job … but what we do here, I am comfortable saying we do as well as any of the hospitals that (someone) would seek services for in any other city,” Montagnese said. “We have the ability to provide the core services and even some specialty services at a very high level.”
In areas such as heart failure care, LMH received high composite scores and a low readmission rate compared with the national average and the Cleveland Clinic. The hospital also received competitive scores in pneumonia care, influenza and pneumonia vaccinations when compared to the Cleveland Clinic and the national average.
However, there are areas where the hospital could see some improvement, Montagnese said, including the mortality rate for residents suffering from heart failure and pneumonia and the amount of time that elapses before a patient is discharged from the emergency room.
There always has been a large emphasis on community benefit in LMHS, with nearly $38 million being directed toward the community in 2013, about $11 million of which was spent on care for people without health insurance.
That money has been used to purchase cardiology equipment for local high schools, equipment for emergency services personnel to perform a 12-lead electrocardiogram in the field, the heart-to-play program to screen student athletes for heart problems, the tobacco cessation program, community education and more.
“I think being proactive has been critical for our success,” Montagnese said. “We’re not a typical community hospital that waits for something to be adopted for many years before bringing it to our organization. We’re at the forefront of having certain types of technology and services.”
This year, the hospital will replace several CT and MRI machines, adding cardiology picture archiving and communication systems and ultrasound machines, a new echo machine and a new EKG management system.
There also will be an emphasis on improving the infant mortality rate, an issue the state has chosen to focus on this year, by providing education to pregnant women, Montagnese said.
The hospital also will unveil a new website and social media presence this year, Montagnese said.
“I think (the community) can look forward to more of the same in terms that we will continue to provide excellent care and will continue to have an opportunity for great patient experiences here,” he said.
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