LAWRENCE MEMORIAL HOSPITAL

| 2014 Spring | story by JANICE EARLY, MBA,Vice President, Marketing & Communications, Lawrence Memorial Hospital |

Top 100
On March 3, Lawrence Memorial Hospital was named one of the nation’s 100 Top Hospitals® by Truven Health Analytics. This is the second straight year in a row that LMH received the honor.

Truven Health Analytics conducts research studies, such as the 100 Top Hospitals® study, with the goal of improving the cost and quality of health care.

In the 2014 100 Top Hospitals® study, Truven Health Analytics compared 2,803 short-term, acute care hospitals in order to identify which provided the highest level of value to their communities. The company made this comparison by examining hospital performance in 10 areas: mortality; inpatient complications; patient safety; average patient stay; expenses; profitability; patient satisfaction; adherence to clinical standards of care; and postdischarge mortality and readmission rates for acute myocardial infarction (heart attack), heart failure, and pneumonia.

“The Truven study is unique in that it evaluates hospitals on measures of overall organizational performance, including patient care, operational efficiency and financial stability. At LMH we aim to bring higher value to our community while confronting the challenges of industry-wide reform, and it is gratifying to earn outside recognition for our efforts,” says Gene Meyer, LMH President and Chief Executive Officer.

LMH was one of 20 winners in the medium community hospital category, and was the only hospital in Kansas and in the Kansas City metropolitan area that made the 2014 list. Hospitals cannot apply to the study or pay to receive the award.

A result of receiving this honor is that the community expects a higher quality of care from LMH. LMH is able to provide and improve patient care because of support from community.

Hearts of Gold Ball
One way that the community has helped support these improvements to LMH is through renovations, partially funded by the LMH Endowment Association’s biannual Hearts of Gold Ball.

Kathy Clausing-Willis, VP and Chief Development Officer, says, “The benefit is it’s getting people involved with their hospital when they’re not sick, so when they are sick they can be confident and comfortable they’ve made this place what it is today.”

Every other year a different area of the hospital is chosen to benefit from the Hearts of Gold Ball. In 2012, it was 2 North, the second floor medical unit that received the proceeds to renovate the unit.

Renovations within the hospital not only improve facilities, they also increase the satisfaction of patients, their families, and the hospital staff.

The second floor has already seen this effect since its renovation.

“Hearts of Gold impacted the unit incredibly,” says Deborah Rector, the director of 2 North. “It is so meaningful for our patients to have a private, therapeutic area where they can rest and can have peaceful moments with their families.”

The proceeds from the 2014 Hearts of Gold Ball also will benefit the renovation of a floor at LMH: the fourth floor.

The fourth floor is home to two programs that cater to seniors, a population that has been growing due to the quality of life that’s available in Lawrence and Douglas County.

Teresa Kaiser, the fourth floor director, says, “The fourth floor of Lawrence Memorial Hospital is home to two important hospital programs and the patients who are served by those programs: the Acute Rehab Unit (ARU), and the Transitional Care Unit (TCU, also known as Skilled Nursing).

The renovation of fourth floor will help fulfill the community’s expectations for a Top 100 Hospital, and this much-needed upgrade is an investment in the future. If fourth floor receives these needed renovations, both the ARU and TCU programs will better serve patients’ needs in an environment that enhances their comfort, privacy and convenience.”

The 2014 Hearts of Gold Ball will be May 10 at the World Company Press Room, from 6 p.m. until midnight.

The theme is “Press On” to remind attendees that patients on the fourth floor of LMH must press on, often spending longer periods of time in the hospital during the rehabilitation process.

To buy tickets, support the renovation of the fourth floor, and help LMH maintain its status as one of the Truven Health 100 Top Hospitals®, contact Tracy Davidson at 785-505-3318 or tracy. davidson@lmh.org, or visit www.lmhendowment.org. ■