Colorado Springs-area hospitals provide top-notch services despite

Colorado Springs Business Journal, Jun 11, 2004 by Marylou Doehrman

As health care costs continue to rise, burdening many, local hospitals are embracing the issues and the community by providing top- notch services and extending services to areas outside the city limits.

In May, Solucient, a national health care information consultant, named Penrose-St. Francis Health Services one of the nation's 100 best hospital systems for the second time. The first award was bestowed in 1998.

J.D. Power and Associates, a global information services firm, this year awarded Penrose-St. Francis a customer-service excellence notation. Health Grades, a national ratings and service company, headquartered in Lakewood, Colo., gave the Penrose system a five- star rating in 2004. Only two other Colorado hospitals - Rose Medical in Denver and Poudre Valley Hospital system in Fort Collins - received the five-star rating.

Rick O'Connell, president and chief executive officer of Penrose- St. Francis, said the awards demonstrate quality outcomes resulting from an excellent team of health care professionals.

Penrose-St. Francis is quality driven because of the board's expectations, O'Connell said. Those expectations trickle down to management and staff, creating outstanding medically based outcomes, he said.

Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield presented the Centers of Excellence award to Penrose-St. Francis for its cardiology and bariatric surgical practices. The cardiology department participates in various data protocols set up through national organizations, and O'Connell believes this helps keep the hospital system ahead of the game with regard to cardiology procedures and applicable treatments.

Overall, there is a high mortality risk for bariatric surgeries, O'Connell said.

We have the longest running patient population of bariatric surgeries without fatality, he said. Bariatric surgery is weight reduction through gastrointestinal surgery, an option for people who weigh more than 100 pounds, and, at Penrose, the surgery is done laproscopically. O'Connell said 85 percent of the Penrose patients lose weight successfully.

The truth behind the Penrose-St. Francis accolades is that it is about the people who practice medicine on a daily basis, O'Connell said. We have leadership among our nursing and clinical directors, he said. We focus on patient care, and quality is a directive. Our people are committed to the system - maybe it's because we are a 117- year-old institution, or perhaps the religious-based aspect brings in the people or maybe it's the fact that we provide educational and other opportunities to our employees. Our awards would not be possible without the care and compassion of everyone, from housekeeping to the medical staff. It's an entire team effort manifested through the board.

Dr. Terry O'Rourke, the medical director of the Penrose Cancer Center, chose Penrose as his primary practice site after a stint in the military. A commitment to excellence is achieved through the excellent quality of care and quality medical staff, O'Rourke said. Quality-performance standards come from the top, and Penrose administrators provide the resources to deliver that type of quality of care. The leadership delivers a culture that is carried out at the bedside.

Quality of care is one thing, but both Colorado Springs hospital systems recognize the need for growth as the increasing population dictates.

Memorial Hospital celebrated the grand opening of its new rehabilitation center at 2999 New Center Point near Powers Boulevard and South Carefree Circle on June 5. Kay Hay is the director of outpatient rehabilitation, and she said a burgeoning client base and a boom in the population of eastern El Paso County created the need for the expansion. Formerly housed at the Safeway Shopping Center across Powers Boulevard, the rehab center quickly outgrew its space. Memorial Hospital will increase its rehabilitation services at the newly leased area, adding physical, occupational and speech therapies for children and maintaining three physical therapists for the adult population.

Memorial has seven satellite rehabilitation facilities; the main rehab center is at 175 S. Union Blvd., near the hospital. The purpose of the outlying rehab centers is for the convenience of the customer, Hay said.

Grants prepare hospitals for emergency response

For the third year in a row, the U.S. Health and Human Services Department announced a $7.7 million grant to Colorado hospitals and health care centers to facilitate emergent responses to counter uncontrollable circumstances. The federal government initially set up the grant in response to the Sept. 11 disasters.

In 2004, hospitals across the state will receive $50,000 each for equipment, construction and/or whatever it takes to get up-to-snuff regarding emergency care provisions. Dr. Ned Colange is the chief medical officer for the Colorado Department of Public Health, and he said the federal grant is a coordinated effort between the public health system and the hospitals. Emergent responses need to be carefully integrated through law enforcement, fire safety and medical teams, he said. The $7.7 million granted in 2003 wasn't available until January 2004, Colange said.