2012 NCH Annual Report - NCH Healthcare System

attending physician. This new database will be
enormously beneficial to patients and medical
staff once complete. The cost of keeping records
will be reduced. NCH medical practitioners,
through the use of smart phones and tablets,
will have critical information at their fingertips.
Patients will benefit from speedier retrieval of
test results, medication history, prior conditions
and treatments—all details of their medical
profile—whether they are here in Naples or
visiting another medical facility elsewhere around
the globe.
Our Health Information Exchange is also
operational. This bold, new system encourages
physicians to share clinical information in a
safe, secure cloud. As more physicians join, our
patients will benefit from the resulting exchange
of data, ideas and experiences.
NCH’s first phase of Smart Rooms came
online this year at North Naples Hospital
thanks to a generous donation. The use of these
Smart Rooms to administer patient care has
transformed the speed, effectiveness and safety
of healthcare delivery. Patient beds in these new
rooms are connected wirelessly into the system.
Caregivers and care recipients benefit from a
real-time exchange of information regarding all
aspects of the patient’s medical situation. Phase
one has been enormously successful. Now is the
time to bring this elevated level of care to the rest
of our system.
Creating contemporary facilities both in
functionality and aesthetics is another imperative
area of focus. We recently completed renovation
of our main Downtown Hospital lobby. If you
haven’t seen it, you owe yourself a visit. Updated
design features and ample open spaces create
a pleasing sense of modern sleekness in the
reception area, gift shop and café. Patients and
visitors notice the difference immediately. In
addition, we are expanding infrastructure by
adding two large operating rooms at the North
Naples Hospital, updating the Outpatient
Infusion Center, enlarging the ER and doubling
the size of our Neonatal ICU. Plus, renovations
in the Telford Building and Sugden Auditorium
are nearing completion.
As in years past, maintaining a high level of
patient satisfaction was a critical component of
our plan in 2012. What does that mean Well,
in addition to attracting the best physicians and
staff, and equipping them with the latest medical
equipment, it means remembering we must use
our hearts as well as our brains when we restore
a person’s health. We recognize that patients are
people, just as we are, with friends and family.
Our goal is to include them all in the healthcare
process, be transparent in our practices, educate,
handle issues and concerns, and in short, make
them feel at home as much as we can. It also
means to make sure our team follows best practices
in every single case. At NCH, we value comments
from our patients. Open communication is the
fastest way we know to improve our care. As a
result of our approach to patient care, satisfaction
ratings have been steadily improving.
In terms of lower mortality rates and length of
stay when compared to our peers, NCH ranks in
the top 10% in the nation. Our mortality rate
is approaching the lowest of any hospital in the
nation. We experienced only one central line
infection in all our ICUs for the entire year! And
ventilator-associated pneumonia has been zero
since February 2012. The list goes on.
Relationships with quality healthcare organizations
outside of NCH also serve to strengthen our
capabilities. We are now affiliated with the
Mayo Clinic. For a detailed listing of what that
means, please read the article on the NCH/Mayo
relationship included in this report. We also joined
forces with another outstanding player—Florida
Blue—the new incarnation of Blue Cross and Blue
Shield. This relationship puts us at the leading
edge of how healthcare will be delivered in the
future under healthcare reform. Florida Blue’s
involvement will help NCH improve patient
outcomes by providing the right healthcare at the
right time. Spending on healthcare in the United
States is equivalent to the fifth largest economy
in the world. The Institute of Medicine identified
at least $210 billion of that yearly spending as
unnecessary waste in the form of overtreatment.
Our partnership with Florida Blue will help us cut
redundant scans, tests, procedures, and the like, to
reduce the overall cost of care within our system.
So, has all this planning and hard work made a
difference The answer is “absolutely!” Once again,
our efforts in 2012 have paid off with measurable
results. Here’s a small sampling:
• The Society of Thoracic Surgeons placed our
Open Heart Surgery Program in the top 10% of
the country.
• NCH was the first hospital system in Southwest
Florida, and one of only five in Florida, to win
Hospitals & Health Network’s Most Wired
award for using technology to provide patients
the highest standards of safety and quality care.
• Becker’s Hospital Review named NCH North
Naples Hospital as one of the 100 Great
Hospitals in America.
• NCH’s Briggs and Whitaker Wellness Centers
have won the Southwest Florida Choice Award
for 2012 for the tenth consecutive year
• Moody’s has reaffirmed our A2 stable bond
rating.
• And, probably best of all, U.S. News and World
Report has once again ranked NCH Healthcare
System among the Best Hospitals in the nation
for the second time. We are the only hospital
in Southwest Florida to have achieved this
distinction twice.