Leaders of Methodist Children’s Hospital, a campus of Methodist Hospital, were honored today by the Studer Group as Evidence-Based Leadership Health Care Organization of the Month for June. The award was presented during the Studer Group’s Excellence in Nursing Institute being held in downtown San Antonio.

The Studer Group is a national organization focused on helping health care organizations achieve, sustain, and accelerate exceptional clinical and operational outcomes. Studer works with over 850 health care organizations in the U.S. and chooses one exceptional organization each month to demonstrate how their tactics and strategies are working across the country.

Methodist Children’s Hospital was recognized for working diligently within the Studer Model of Excellence to improve and sustain patient satisfaction and overall patient experience. Beginning their journey to excellence in 2007 with a baseline patient satisfaction score at the 53^rd percentile, Methodist Children’s Hospital reached the 97^th percentile in 2009 and has sustained “best in class” performance, closing 2012 at the 97^th percentile again.

“When I arrived here in 2006, I became very focused on improving the patient experience. This award speaks to the extraordinary passion, action focus and accountability of the leadership team,” said J. Mark McLoone, FACHE, chief executive officer. McLoone credits the Children’s Hospital leadership team that includes Ann Winn, RN, FACHE, NEA-BC, chief nursing officer, and Raymond Stefko, MD, who currently serves as chief of staff.

“Building upon a foundation of a respectful work environment for our team members, and with consistently strong scores in the family’s evaluation of physician communication, the family-focused team of doctors, nurses, ancillary, support and other staff all work together to assure an optimal patient and family experience,” McLoone added. “The entire children’s hospital team has made these results achievable and sustainable.”

The accomplishments of Methodist Children’s Hospital extend to their Emergency Department (ED) which remains a shining example of the hospital’s overall success. The ED’s patient volume exceeded 73,000 visits in 2012, up from 66,000 in 2011. It is one of the busiest “just for children” emergency departments in the nation. Despite this very high patient volume, the Methodist Children’s Hospital ED has ranked No. 1 for patient experience among all emergency departments in its peer group for four quarters during the last two years.

Methodist Children’s Hospital is a relatively young children’s hospital. Opening 15 years ago in 1998, Methodist Children’s Hospital has grown extraordinarily and is now the largest provider of pediatric health services in the seventh largest city in the United States. “Emphasizing the importance of the patient experience in such a market has contributed to the hospital’s growth as families increasingly choose Methodist Children’s Hospital for the care of their children,” McLoone added.

“The leadership team at Methodist Children’s Hospital has hardwired nurse leader rounding and we focus our time on action items. We focus on identifying solutions in real time. We don’t wait several weeks to get our survey results, we take action on what’s happening in the hospital right now,” said Winn.

“When we identify a gap in services, we respond quickly. Leadership rounding has been effective in helping us identify gaps and resolve any issues before the patient leaves the hospital. As a pediatric hospital, we’re in a unique position because the child is our patient but the parents and family are the ones defining and interpreting the patient experience,” Winn added.

“The journey to achieving and sustaining outstanding patient experiences has been gratifying for employees and medical staff at every level of the organization. We are proud of the positive difference we have made in our community. On behalf of the staff and physicians at Methodist Children’s Hospital, we are deeply honored to be chosen as Studer Group’s Evidence-Based Leadership Healthcare Organization of the Month,” concluded McLoone.

About Methodist Children’s Hospital
Methodist Children’s Hospital opened in 1998 as the first children’s hospital in South Texas designed and built from the ground up to meet the needs of children and their families. The hospital has the area’s largest pediatric emergency department with 32 treatment rooms and more than 73,000 visits last year alone. Methodist Children’s Hospital is among the nation’s largest providers of marrow and stem cell transplants. A new hybrid operating room opened recently that gives surgeons the equipment needed to perform complex heart surgeries. The hospital maintains two Methodist AirCare™ helicopters to transport newborns, children and pregnant women from all part of South Texas to Methodist Children’s Hospital so they can receive a higher level of care that may be needed in a medical crisis. Methodist Children’s Hospital maintains children’s specialty clinics to ensure children receive the outpatient care they need for complex illnesses in a single location. To learn more, visit www.MHSChildrens.com.

About Studer Group
Studer Group® works with over 850 healthcare organizations in the U.S. and beyond, teaching them how to achieve, sustain, and accelerate exceptional clinical, operational, and financial outcomes. We work to bring structure and focus to organizations through the creation of cultures of accountability and help set them up to be able to execute quickly. And with the rapid changes occurring in our industry due to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ushering in the pay-for-performance era, this ability has never been more critical.

As the metrics our industry publicly reports get expanded—and as reimbursement is increasingly tied to these results—organizations are forced to get progressively better at providing top quality care with fewer dollars. We help organizations install an execution framework called Evidence-Based Leadership^SM (EBL) that aligns their goals, actions, and processes. This framework creates the foundation that enables them to transform the way they provide care in this era of rapid change.