News Release: Emory Healthcare, Woodruff Health Sciences
Feb. 12, 2009
Emory University Orthopaedics & Spine Hospital Celebrates Successful Beginning with Dedication Ceremony
New Hospital Already Ranks Highest in Country in Patient Satisfaction Scores
Emory University Orthopaedics & Spine Hospital. Download full-size image here (164 K)Emory University Orthopaedics & Spine Hospital officially unveiled its state-of-the art facility during an open house and dedication ceremony, featuring special guests and speakers including Roy Barnes, who served as Georgia’s 80th governor from 1999-2003, and a message from Hall of Fame NFL quarterback Fran Tarkenton.
Atlanta's newest hospital was designed and created to meet the increasing demand for orthopaedics and spine care in a rapidly growing Atlanta metropolitan region. In addition, Emory University Orthopaedics & Spine Hospital provides high-quality care in the delivery of general acute care services, and the most advanced, sophisticated technology in a patient-and-family friendly environment.
Through the patient and family-centered care initiative, Emory Healthcare has been a leader in the creation of an organizational culture that thrives on the involvement of not only staff and physicians in the planning and decisions about patient care, but patients and their families as well. By involving nursing staff, physicians, patients and their families - the experts in patient care - in the many complex decisions that are confronted, better decisions are made and the best patient outcomes possible are achieved.
The creation and opening of Emory University Orthopaedics & Spine Hospital is an important achievement for Emory Healthcare on behalf of the communities Emory serves, says John T. Fox, CEO of Emory Healthcare.
"We have made a commitment and delivered on a promise to our patients to provide them a true quality health care experience," says Fox. "That means an impeccable clinical outcome, based on the highest levels of experience-based medicine and diligence on patient safety. The Emory promise also means making every decision based on what is best and most helpful for each patient and for his or her family.
"This hospital embodies the collaborative and innovative culture-of-care elements that will help set the future course of patient care across the country, including patient-and family-centered care, shared decision making, a fair and just culture, transparency, and cultural competency and diversity," says Fox. "These attributes are embedded in our decision-making process and, more importantly, are evident in our provision of care."
In addition to offering orthopaedics and spine services in a focused capacity, the hospital also offers general acute care services for patients with non-surgical needs. A team of Emory University Hospital-based medicine physicians will treat a wide variety of non-critical patient medical conditions, while providing a seamless link to all other specialists located at other Emory hospitals. The combination gives patients the benefits of a higher level of care with all the attributes of a major university medical center - research, technology and sub-specialists combined with an attention to service usually only found in smaller facilities, says Scott Boden, MD, professor of orthopaedic surgery and director of the Emory Orthopaedics & Spine Center.
"When it came to planning the details of the hospital, we began with a blank sheet of paper," says Boden. "The hospital was designed in every detail in consultation with our physicians, nurses and other clinicians. What did they need from a hospital to enable them to do their best job? We sought input from our former patients."
Boden continues, "What would make patients feel that their needs and the needs of their families were being met in making decisions and receiving care? What we celebrate today is the result. While we could not be prouder of what we have already achieved, we are also incredibly excited about where we are going with this new center of care and discovery. Working together with leadership from the Woodruff Health Sciences Center, the Emory School of Medicine and Emory University Hospital, we built on our extensive experience in the department of orthopaedics.
"By leveraging the vision, research and medical advances to Emory to serve the unique needs of our patient population, we now combine the highest quality of healthcare with exceptional patient and family oriented services," remarks Boden.
Emory purchased the existing hospital facility located at the intersection of Lawrenceville Highway and I-285 in DeKalb County in January 2007, and invested more than $18 million to complete a revolutionary family and patient centered care model which has, in its short existence helped to redefine what a hospital can be and, which has already resulted in the highest patient satisfaction score of all hospitals surveyed nationally.
According to Redge Hanna, director of service performance for Emory Healthcare, Emory University Orthopaedics & Spine Hospital has recently returned surveys for patients, which have been nationally bench marked by Press Ganey, the largest patient satisfaction vendor in the country. The hospital has received the highest possible ranking compared to all other hospitals in the country.
"When our patient responses are ranked compared with more than 600,000 patient responses from over 1,000 other hospitals across the nation, our responses currently receive the highest possible ranking, which is remarkable, particularly for a new hospital," says Hanna.
According to Tony Rankin, MD, president of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, studies have proven that orthopaedic medical centers with a solidly defined purpose and vision translates to accelerated recovery times, increased patient safety and unprecedented patient satisfaction.
"We believe the ability to focus on the unique needs of this patient population makes good doctors even better," says Rankin. "That focus enables them to create standardized processes and to acquire and embrace the rapidly changing technology that is revolutionizing the care of orthopaedic and spine patients. Emory has been a pioneer in the national trend to integrate care for patients with orthopaedic and spine problems, and we offer congratulations and best wishes for continued success."
Facts about Emory University Orthopaedics & Spine Hospital
The Emory University Orthopaedics & Spine Hospital, an extension of Emory University Hospital, is staffed exclusively by Emory physicians. The facility is six stories and has 208,000 square feet of space which includes a medical office building. It provides complete MRI and radiology capabilities as well as on-site inpatient and outpatient physical therapy. Furnishings and furniture in the new facility are customized for total joint and spine patients, and there are newly appointed private suites (most private suites have a pullout bed for family members). The facility has a dedicated orthopaedics and spine patient floor, as well as general medicine services. Because there is unrestricted visiting hours, families can stay with patients all of the time. A restaurant and in-room dining are available 7 am-7 pm. Visit Emory Healthcare's web site for more information.
###
The Robert W. Woodruff Health Sciences Center of Emory University is an academic health science and service center focused on missions of teaching, research, health care and public service. Its components include schools of medicine, nursing, and public health; Yerkes National Primate Research Center; the Emory Winship Cancer Institute; and Emory Healthcare, the largest, most comprehensive health system in Georgia. The Woodruff Health Sciences Center has a $2.3 billion budget, 17,000 employees, 2,300 full-time and 1,900 affiliated faculty, 4,300 students and trainees, and a $4.9 billion economic impact on metro Atlanta.
Learn more about Emory’s health sciences:
Blog: http://emoryhealthblog.com
Twitter: @emoryhealthsci
Web: http://emoryhealthsciences.org
