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Silverton area residents have long appreciated their community hospital. Most realize that a hospital of Silverton Hospital's capabilities is a rarity in communities the size of Silverton. And now, the secret is out — in a big way.
An independent research organization that annually ranks hospitals based on several strict performance criteria named Silverton Hospital to its Top 100 list for 2005. Silverton was one of only three Oregon hospitals to earn the honor and is one of only two West Coast organizations to make the list in the community hospital category. Only 20 community hospitals in America made the Top 100 list.
"This award is a testament to the hard work, compassion and dedication of our employees and the entire medical community," said William Winter, Silverton Hospital CEO. "It's an honor to be part of such a capable team and rewarding to share in the recognition that Silverton Hospital has earned."
The Nation's Top 100 Hospitals ranking is published each year by Solucient, a company based in Evanston, Ill., that compiles information on more than 6,000 hospitals using the nation's largest database of healthcare statistics. It ranks hospital based on their performance in five categories: clinical outcomes, patient safety, operational efficiency, financial stability and growth. Winning hospitals displayed balanced organizational performance -- an ability to provide sustainable and reliable healthcare services to their organizations.
Silverton Hospital officials say they are most proud of the Top 100 ranking because it demonstrates that the organization's standard approach to caring for patients and doing business is considered a model worth emulating elsewhere.
"Winning awards has never been a goal of ours; we're guided by the desire to simply do what's right for our patients and our community," said Winter. "However, this award demonstrates that, in the process of just doing the right thing on a daily basis, our physicians, staff, volunteers and board members are setting a standard that an outside organization believes other hospital should aspire to. And that's a very powerful validation for the quality of work that our people are doing."
According to Patient Relations Director Jan Buller, Silverton Hospital's performance in the area of clinical outcomes is the result of entrusting staff to make decisions that are in the best interests of their patients.
"We organize ourselves as a collaborative team, and all employees are empowered to promote compassion and recognize the dignity of those who entrust us with their care," Buller said. "The criteria that earned us this amazing honor may be based on statistics and numbers, but achieving and maintaining excellence is a group effort."
Silverton Hospital also earns high marks for its ongoing efforts to offer its patients and community a higher level of care and greater breadth of services than is typically available from a small community hospital.
For example, in addition to virtually rebuilding its entire physical plant within the last decade, the hospital also has recruited several new physicians to the community to increase access to primary and specialty medical care.
An ambitious outreach program has seen the hospital bring an array of services into Woodburn, Mt. Angel and Molalla, enabling residents of those communities to stay closer to home for their healthcare needs.
In addition, the hospital's commitment to ensuring its patients benefit from the latest technological advancements has led to the development of a state-of-the-art facility few hospital's its size can match. One of the most recent examples of this occurred in recent months when hospital's emergency department became the first in the state to implement a fully integrated electronic medical record and tracking system.
The new system dramatically streamlines the process by which physicians chart patients, order and receive test results, prescribe medications and perform a variety of other tasks. The system provides significant benefits to physicians and patients alike.
"Medical management is jumping into the 21st century," said Frank Lord, MD, Director of Emergency Medicine. "And as the first emergency department in the state to have this technology, Silverton Hospital is a frontrunner."
According to Winter, the Top 100 honor reinforces the intent of the hospital's motto, "Committed to Compassionate Care for our Communities."
"People throughout our organization take those words seriously and live by them on a day-to-day basis," Winter said. "In the process, Silverton Hospital has become a healthcare organization that has been recognized as a cut above the rest. That's a tremendous tribute to the quality of the people who comprise the Silverton Hospital family."
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