Corridor Update

Corridor Update

Compiled by Maria Mallory White

SPOTLIGHTSacred Heart 16th in U.S. for Patient Experience

They knew there were good, and now they know just how good – nationally.

Nine out of 10 patients who checked into Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast would “definitely recommend” it to others, according to a government survey.

Those recommendations earned Sacred Heart the highest rating among Northwest Florida’s hospitals and catapulted it to 16th position in patient experience among its national peers, the hospital announced.

Drawn from a 27-question survey that measured responses in 10 categories, including communication with doctors and nurses, communication about medications, pain management, hospital cleanliness and quietness, the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) is billed as the nation’s first standardized and publicly reported survey of patients’ assessments of care. “It’s Medicare’s way of monitoring our patient satisfaction,” explains Sacred Heart President Roger Hall.

Patients were asked also to rank on a 1-to-10 scale (with 10 as the highest score) their experience during Sacred Heart stays. Ninety percent responded with a 9 or 10. “Sacred Heart’s score far surpassed both the statewide average of 56 percent and the national average of 63 percent,” the company reported. 

Hall says that the hospital regularly monitors its patient satisfaction with no less than three outside organizations. Although Sacred Heart’s feedback from these entities has always been stellar, Hall says, “We’ve never known what our patient satisfaction scores or patient experience scores are on a national basis.”

Within the auspices of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, since 2006, the Hospital Quality Alliance (HQA), a national public-private partnership comprised of hospital groups, consumer representatives, physician and nursing organizations and government agencies, has collected the survey data from hospitals across the nation. The initiative is part of an overall effort to improve the quality of U.S. health care. Consumers can access the results at the HQA Web site, hospitalcompare.hhs.gov. Some 102 hospitals in North Florida are included in the searchable database, with another 79 from elsewhere across the state.

Hall, of course, wants you to look no further.

“We’re 16 out of a little less than 3,000 hospitals on a national basis,” Hall points out. “We think that is significant – and we’re right here in paradise.”

INSURANCEPURE Expands High-Value Home Coverage

Privilege Underwriters Reciprocal Exchange (PURE) is bringing its insurance coverage for owners of well-built, high-value homes along the Panhandle, Ross Buchmueller, president and chief executive officer with PURE Risk Management LLC, has announced.

Already a player providing “providing high net worth insurance solutions” in the Northeastern, Central, and South Florida markets, the company officials say it has worked closely with the Institute for Business and Home Safety to identify local communities, such as such as Alys Beach and Watercolor, that not only meet Florida building codes but also PURE’s stringent construction criteria.

Beyond homeowner’s policies including windstorm coverage, PURE will market automobile, jewelry & art and excess liability coverage in the region, as well.

AWARDS & DESIGNATIONS
American College of Radiology Certifies Local Medical Facility

White-Wilson Medical Center of Fort Walton Beach recently received American College of Radiology accreditation in six imaging models, including CT, MRI, Mammography, Nuclear Medicine, Nuclear Cardiology and Vascular Ultrasound. White-Wilson – the only facility on the Emerald Coast accredited for all of those modalities – offers imaging services at its Fort Walton Beach, Destin and Niceville locations.

Local architects Erik Vogt and Marieanne Khoury-Vogt won a 2008 Palladio Award for their Fonville Press design. The popular Scenic 30A coffee shop, newsstand and wine bar in Alys Beach captured the accolade in the “Commercial, Institutional & Public Projects – New Design & Construction – Less Than 30,000 Square Feet” category.

Camp Creek Golf Club advanced to the No. 6 slot of Golfweek’s 2008 “Best You Can Play, State-by-State” rankings for Florida. The award-winning Tom Fazio design developed by The St. Joe Company rose seven positions since last year’s list and logged its sixth-consecutive year in the top 15 of Florida’s courses.

Rum Runners at Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort in Destin was a finalist in the annual Five Star Awards. Sponsored by Oxford Publishing Inc. at the Nightclub & Bar Beverage and Food Convention & Trade Show (“The Show”), Rum Runners was honored in the Best Casual Dining Of The Year category.