CONGRATULATIONS, UF&SHANDS!
UHC awards Shands at UF 4 stars
Michael L. Good, M.D., dean of the UF College of Medicine, Timothy M. Goldfarb, CEO of Shands HealthCare, and David S. Guzick, M.D., PH.D., senior vice president for health affairs and president of the UF&Shands Health System, thanked UF&Shands employees for making Shands at UF one of the top hospitals in the country, based on the UHC 2011 Quality and Accountability Performance Scorecard, during a celebration at the Atrium Sept. 28.
Working together as faculty, residents and staff across the colleges, hospitals and clinical programs of UF&Shands, we are providing world-class health care in a welcoming, patient-centered environment. The result is marked improvements in clinical outcomes.
On Sept. 28, Shands at the University of Florida was recognized as a national leader in patient safety and quality health care. The University HealthSystem Consortium, an alliance of academic medical centers and hospitals, awarded Shands at UF a 4-star rating – the second-highest ranking – on its 2011 scorecard for Quality and Accountability Performance.
The score reflects outstanding outcomes for indicators including mortality rates, effectiveness, patient safety and patient-centeredness. Shands at UF ranked 12th for patient safety and 31st for mortality among the 101 institutions assessed.
The UF&Shands Forward Together Strategic Plan has patient care quality as its centerpiece, from which excellence in education and research follows. Our patients are at the heart of what we do. Improvements we’re making are because our physicians, nurses, residents, administrators, staff employees and volunteers are working together with a single purpose. This has occurred on an individual level, as reflected in our personal “I Promise” commitments to our patients. Your purpose is also demonstrated on a team level, where collaboration across disciplines and work functions promotes a shared sense of responsibility toward our patients.
At UF&Shands, we aim high. The strategic plan called for a 5-star rating within five years, an honor reserved for the top 10 academic health center hospitals nationally. We have come so far, so fast, there’s no question we can reach this very high bar.
Efforts to improve patient care even further, by building upon existing initiatives or introducing new ones, are now coordinated under the leadership of Randy Harmatz, M.B.A., UF&Shands chief quality officer and director of the new Sebastian Ferrero Office of Clinical Quality and Patient Safety. Kudos to Kayser Enneking, M.D., chair of the Board Quality Committee; Tim Flynn, M.D., senior associate dean for clinical affairs and Shands at UF chief medical officer; Marvin Dewar, M.D., senior associate dean and UF Physicians CEO; Ed Jimenez, Shands at UF senior vice president and chief operating officer; Irene Alexaitis, M.S.N., R.N., NEA-BC, Shands at UF vice president and chief nursing officer; and Bette Brotherton, Shands Clinical Improvement vice president. These individuals and their teams have worked with relentless diligence and commitment on behalf of our patients’ quality of care.
Achieving 4-star UHC status at Shands at UF is an extraordinary achievement, brought about by the concerted efforts of all staff and faculty that have joined together as UF&Shands. Thank you to everyone — and let’s move Forward Together on our mission to serve our patients.