GL Annual Report:Layout 1 - Gundersen Health System

Mission: Our Work
We distinguish ourselves through excellence in patient care, education, research and
improved health in the communities we serve.
Vision: Our Plan
We will be a health system of excellence, nationally recognized as providing the best healthcare
to the patients and communities we serve.
Values: Our Priorities
Our mission, vision and values are driven by these guiding principles:
Excellence:
Innovation:
Compassion:
Respect:
Integrity:
Achieve excellence in all aspects of delivering healthcare.
Embrace innovation to creatively meet the challenges of the changing healthcare environment.
Provide compassionate care to patients and families embracing the dignity of individuals.
Respect for individual patients, families, fellow co-workers and our communities.
Consistently perform with a high level of integrity that demonstrates honesty, responsibility and transparency.
a new model for improving value and performance
4 | A NEW ERA FOR THE HEALTH OF OUR COMMUNITIES

Changing the future of healtcare
We live in an era where the rising cost of healthcare dominates the national agenda. Many parts of the country are not
receiving good value for their healthcare investments. A new initiative of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI)
called the Triple Aim, seeks to better understand new models that can improve the individual patient experience and
the health of entire communities, at a reasonable per capita cost. The simultaneous pursuit of three goals—excellent
health, ideal care, and controlled costs—is seen as one of the only ways to truly optimize healthcare resources for a
population and achieve broad-based, lasting, transformational results.
Influential leaders from the realms of business, government and
healthcare have said the key to better care with decreasing cost
is providing care across the continuum that is:
• connected between caregivers;
• reliable in its approaches;
• constantly focused on the well being of the patient.
At Gundersen Lutheran, we believe we are a shining
example of this emerging model. And the good news
is: it is starting to work. This report will show how
Gundersen Lutheran’s mission, vision, and values
drive our strategy to achieve the ultimate goal:
Delivering superior healthcare to our patients and
our communities.
Once again, named one of the nation’s
100 Top Hospitals by Thomson
Healthcare, Gundersen Lutheran ranks
among the top four percent of U.S.
teaching hospitals when it comes to
clinical outcomes, patient safety, financial
performance and efficiency. We
were the only tertiary hospital within
150 miles of La Crosse to be recognized
in this category.
Lynn Lenz, clinical manager, Respiratory Care; Craig Cole, MD, Hematology/Medical Oncology and Gina Yang, interpreter
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n an era where healthcare information is available to patients with just a few clicks of a mouse, awards represent something of a report card that tell not just what
we do, but how well we do it. Objective third-party evaluations take into consideration a broad range of factors, and are based on a variety of data and measures.
IHealthGrades ® (www.healthgrades.com) one of the leading healthcare
ratings organization in the country, analyzed nearly 41 million hospitalizations
for their 2008 HealthGrades Hospital Quality and Clinical
Excellence study. Analysis was based on three fiscal years (2004, 2005,
2006) of patient records from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services, for 27 distinct medical procedures and diagnoses. The select
group of hospitals recognized by the study is noteworthy for achieving
consistent, high-quality care in not just one or two specialties, but across
the board. HealthGrades named Gundersen Lutheran among the
nation’s top five percent
of hospitals, including
the following:
• 2008 Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence
• Health Excellence Awards for Critical Care, Gastrointestinal Care,
Gastrointestinal Surgery, General Surgery, and Joint Replacement
• Five Star ratings in multiple service areas, including general surgery,
orthopaedics, treatment of respiratory failure, treatment of heart attack
and heart failure.
Gundersen Lutheran led the rankings for critical care services
throughout the state of Wisconsin.
to select the Top 100 national benchmark hospitals uses a scoring system
which looks at weighted performance measures centered on clinical
excellence, operating efficiency and
financial health, and responsiveness
to the community. In the past 11 years,
Gundersen Lutheran has been named a
Top 100 organization 13 times, including:
• Thomson 100 Top Hospitals ® :
National Benchmarks for
Success (2008).
• Thomson 100 Top Hospitals ® :
Performance Improvement
Leaders (2007).
• Thomson 100 Top
Hospitals ® :
Cardiovascular
Benchmarks for
Success (2007).
For details on this study, visit
www.thomson.com.
Thomson Healthcare (formerly Solucient) is the leading provider of
decision support solutions that help organizations across the healthcare
industry improve clinical and business performance. Their annual study
Teresa Hollnagel, RN, hospital expert leader and Jamey Bina, RN, clinical manager, Hospital Operations
6 | DISTINCTION

In addition to accolades about our system performance, our staff has achieved national distinction in many service lines and related areas:
• One of only 31 facilities nationwide to receive the
Outstanding Achievement Award from the Commission
on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons.
• General Surgery Residency Program is one of 10 programs in the nation
whose graduates have passed all board exams on their first attempt.
• Gundersen Lutheran and the Norma J. Vinger Center for
Breast Care secured every breast-care related accreditation
offered by the American College of Radiology—one of only
two organizations in the country with that distinction—
and named a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence.
• For over 25 years, RTS (formerly Resolve Through Sharing) has
been the leading program for perinatal bereavement education.
It’s available in more than 8,000 hospitals around the world, with
over 30,000 trained professionals.
• A national leader in engaging patients and their families in advance
care planning and honoring patient preferences at the end of life,
Respecting Choices ® is being implemented in over 60 organizations
in North America
and Australia.
• Earned accreditation as a Level II Trauma Center.
• Over the last four years, our Internal Medicine residents have
scored, as a group, in the top five percent in the nation on their
In-Training examinations.
• Gundersen Lutheran was named an Advocacy All-Star by the
Wisconsin Hospital Association for excellence
in representing the communities we serve.
• Awarded three national awards for
environmental policy and improvement.
• Medal of Honor and Meritorious Achievement Award from
the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for
successfully donating the organs of 81 percent of eligible
donors (national average is 60 percent).
• Bariatric Center of Excellence
designation from the American Society
for Bariatric Surgery.
• Certified by the Joint Commission as a Primary Stroke
Center, the only one within a 90-mile radius of La Crosse.
• Named a National Heart Care Specialty
Center by Blue Cross Blue Shield.
achieving distinction through performance
Premnauth Rabindranauth, MD, Cardiovascular Surgery
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