“I’m extremely proud to be part of a tremendous team of caregivers, who have been honored again by The Leapfrog Group with their prestigious patient safety award,” said Stephen Gray, SMSC’s chief administrative officer.  “Key in achieving the Top Hospital award is our high priority on patient safety and patient-centered care.”

Hospitals are selected for the award based on the results of The Leapfrog Group’s annual hospital survey, which measures hospital performance on patient safety and quality, focusing on three critical areas of hospital care: how patients fare, resource use, and management structures established to prevent errors. The Top Hospital award is given to hospitals that meet the high standards defined in each year’s Top Hospitals Methodology.

 View a full list of 2014 Top Hospitals.

Learn more about The Leapfrog Group.

About Sutter Maternity & Surgery Center
Sutter Maternity & Surgery Center (SMSC) is part of the Sutter Health network of care. SMSC is a licensed and Joint Commission accredited acute care hospital providing birthing, medical and surgical services. The state-of-the art 30-bed hospital opened to patients in 1996. SMSC is part of Sutter Health’s Peninsula Coastal Region, which also includes Mills-Peninsula Medical Center, the Palo Alto Medical Foundation and Menlo Park Surgical Hospital. For more information about SMSC, visit our website and join us onFacebook.

Contact:

Mark Riley
Sutter Health
(831) 460-6034
rileym1@sutterhealth.org

The 2014 Guardian of Excellence Award recognizes top-performing facilities that consistently achieved the 95th percentile of performance in patient experience. This honor is awarded annually based on one year of data. Press Ganey partners with more than 10,000 health care facilities, including more than half of all U.S. hospitals, to measure and improve the patient experience.

Menlo Park Surgical Hospital and SMSC earned the award for patient experience in inpatient care; Mills-Peninsula for patient experience in HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems), which assesses communication and responsiveness of hospital staff.

Mills-Peninsula Health Services is receiving this prestigious honor for the first time.

“This award is a testament to all our nurses, staff and doctors and their steadfast commitment to providing patients with compassionate, top-quality care,” said Janet Wagner, Mills-Peninsula’ chief executive officer. “Creating an extraordinary experience for each patient and their family is at the heart of all we do, so it’s truly an honor to be recognized by Press Ganey for excellence in patient satisfaction.”

This is the sixth time that SMSC has received the award.

“Achieving this level of excellence in patient satisfaction reflects our care team’s commitment to delivering outstanding patient and family-centered care,” said Stephen Gray, SMSC’s chief administrative officer. “The award is a reflection of our culture that is committed to delivering an exceptional experience to every patient.”

This is the fourth time that Menlo Park Surgical Hospital has won the award.

Menlo Park Surgical Hospital, Mills-Peninsula and SMSC are part of the Sutter Health network. Other Sutter facilities that received the Press Ganey 2014 Guardian of Excellence Award are Sutter Davis Hospital for physician engagement, Sutter Elk Grove Surgery Center for patient experience in ambulatory surgery and Sutter Surgical Hospital North Valley for patient experience in inpatient care.

Contact:
Mark Riley
Sutter Health
(831) 460-6034
rileym1@sutterhealth.org

Mills-Peninsula was recognized for excellence in accountability measures for heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia and surgical care. SMSC achieved excellence in measures for surgical care.

This is the first year Mills-Peninsula has received the honor and the fourth year in a row that SMSC has been recognized as a Top Performer. SMSC is one of only 147 hospitals in the country to achieve the Top Performer distinction for the past four years. Both hospitals will be recognized in The Joint Commission’s 2014 annual report “America’s Hospitals: Improving Quality and Safety.”

To be a 2013 Top Performer, hospitals had to meet three performance criteria based on 2013 accountability measure data, including:

• Achieving cumulative performance of 95 percent or above across all reported accountability measures;
• Achieving performance of 95 percent or above on each and every reported accountability measure where there were at least 30 denominator cases; and
• Having at least one core measure set that had a composite rate of 95 percent or above, and (within that measure set) all applicable individual accountability measures had a performance rate of 95 percent or above.

“I want to thank our entire team at Mills-Peninsula for their hard work and absolute dedication to quality and safety,” said Janet Wagner, CEO. “Honors based on quality measures, such as this one from The Joint Commission, affirm we are delivering the highest quality care to our patients.”

“Providing excellent care to our patients is our top priority, and we’re proud to have achieved The Joint Commission Top Performer recognition for the fourth year in a row,” said Stephen Gray, SMSC’s chief administrative officer.

A total of 13 Sutter Health hospitals received Top Performer recognition today. Winners include:

Greater San Francisco Bay Area

Eden Medical Center – Recognized for heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia and surgical care
Mills-Peninsula Health Services – Recognized for heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia and surgical care
Novato Community Hospital – Recognized for surgical care
Sutter Maternity and Surgery Center, Santa Cruz – Recognized for surgical care
Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital – Recognized for heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia and surgical care

Greater Sacramento and Central Valley Region

Memorial Hospital Los Banos – Recognized for pneumonia care
Memorial Medical Center Modesto – Recognized for heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia and surgical care
Sutter Auburn Faith Hospital – Recognized for pneumonia and surgical care
Sutter Davis Hospital – Recognized for pneumonia and surgical care
Sutter Solano Medical Center – Recognized for heart failure, pneumonia and surgical care
Sutter Tracy Community Hospital – Recognized for heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia and surgical care

Crescent City, CA

Sutter Coast Hospital – Recognized for pneumonia and surgical care

Ewa Beach, Hawaii
Kahi Mohala Behavioral Health – Recognized for care for inpatient psychiatric services”

For more information about the Top Performer program, visit jointcommission.org/accreditation/top_performers.aspx.

Sutter Maternity & Surgery Center (SMSC) and the Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF), have been recognized as “Leaders in LGBT Healthcare Equality” in the

SMSC and PAMF earned honors for their commitment to equitable, inclusive care for LGBT patients and their families, who can face significant challenges in securing adequate health care.

SMSC and PAMF were two of a select group of 464 health care facilities nationwide to be named Leaders in LGBT Healthcare Equality. Facilities awarded this title meet key criteria for equitable care, including non-discrimination policies for LGBT patients and employees, a guarantee of equal visitation for same-sex partners and parents, and LGBT health education for key staff members.

HRC Health & Aging Director Shane Snowdon congratulated SMSC and PAMF and says, “LGBT patients deeply appreciate the welcoming environment provided by Leaders in LGBT Healthcare Equality. It makes a big difference to know that your local healthcare facility is fully committed to giving you the same care it gives your neighbors and co-workers.”

For more information about the Healthcare Equality Index 2013, or to download a free copy of the report, visit http://www.hrc.org/hei.

The Summit Award recognizes top-performing facilities that sustain the highest levels of patient satisfaction performance for three consecutive years. The Press Ganey Summit Award is one of the health care industry’s most coveted symbols of achievement.

This year, SMSC is one of 114 organizations to receive this prestigious honor, and one of only 101 to receive it for achieving and sustaining excellence in patient satisfaction. Press Ganey partners with more than 10,000 health care facilities, including more than half of all U.S. hospitals, to measure and improve the patient experience.

“Achieving this level of excellence in patient satisfaction reflects our care team’s commitment to delivering outstanding patient and family-centered care,” said Stephen Gray, SMSC’s chief administrative officer.  “The award is a reflection of our culture that is committed to delivering an exceptional experience to every patient.”

Sutter Maternity & Surgery Center is part of the Sutter Health network.

Contact: Mark Riley, Sutter Maternity & Surgery Center, 831-460-6034; rileym1@pamf.org

The BFHI is a global program sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to encourage and recognize hospitals and birthing centers that offer an optimal level of care for infant feeding. The BFHI provides direction to hospitals in giving mothers the information, confidence and skills needed to successfully initiate and continue breastfeeding their babies and gives special recognition to hospitals that have done so. Scientific studies have shown that breastfed children have fewer and less serious illnesses than those who never receive breast milk, including reduced risk of SIDS and less childhood cancer and diabetes.

To achieve the Baby-Friendly designation, facilities must register with Baby-Friendly USA, complete the all of the requirements, and ultimately demonstrate during an on-site assessment that they have correctly integrated all of the “Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding” into their practice for healthy newborns.  Nurses undergo 18 hours of training and three hours of supervised time with patients, and physicians receive three hours of training.

“We are extremely proud of our Lactation Center and the wonderfully supportive staff there, along with our outstanding obstetricians and pediatricians,” said Ric Nichols, SMSC administrator.  “The services they provide are an important part of having a wonderful birthing experience here at SMSC.”

SMSC also recently received high marks in a recent California WIC survey, ranking fifth in the state in exclusive breastfeeding scores.  Approximately 98 percent of mothers enter SMSC with the intention to breastfeed, and 93 percent leave exclusively breastfeeding. In comparison, LA County Hospitals’ data shows that close to 90 percent of women enter intending to breastfeed, yet 39 percent leave exclusively breastfeeding.  This is an indication of SMSC’s extraordinary lactation practices, training and team approach.

Palo Alto Medical Foundation Santa Cruz (PAMF Santa Cruz) provides general health care, family practice, urgent care, primary care and health care specialists.  The 30-bed Sutter Maternity & Surgery Center (SMSC) is a licensed and Joint Commission accredited acute care hospital providing birthing, medical and surgical services. PAMF Santa Cruz and SMSC coordinate to provide an integrated model of health care delivery for Santa Cruz County residents. Both are affiliates of the Sutter Health family of not-for-profit physician organizations and hospitals that share resources and expertise to advance health care quality.

Media Contact:

Mark Riley
rileym1@pamf.org
831-460-6034