Perfect Care

St. Joseph Way Speeds Delivery of Care
Performance improvement teams deployed in St. Joseph Hospital’s Emergency Department and Cardiac Cath Lab have taken bold steps toward achieving Perfect Care. St. Joseph Way teams of hospital administrators, physicians and frontline staff analyzed how a patient moves through the ED and Cath Lab, planned ways to streamline the process and observed implementation. Major time savings resulted for patients.

For example, a patient arriving at the Emergency Department, California’s third busiest, previously waited an average of 31 minutes and had three forms to complete. Today there is only one form to complete and the patient waits less than eight minutes before being triaged. For patients needing admission to the hospital, bed assignment wait times were reduced from as much as 45 minutes to less than 15 minutes. In the Cath Labs, patient wait times were also dramatically reduced. New technology streamlined patient and physician scheduling. With greater efficiency, the Cath Labs are able to assist more patients requiring intervention.

These St. Joseph Way achievements are only the beginning. In the future, this Perfect Care initiative will enhance services throughout St. Joseph Hospital.

Measuring Perfect Care Programs
The following accomplishments show St. Joseph Hospital’s commitment and passion toward achieving Perfect Care:

• Achieved St. Joseph Health System’s “Top Performer” quality award for the
  fourth consecutive year.
• Achieved four Avatar International patient satisfaction awards:
   1. Innovation - Outpatient Pavilion Holistic Care Journey
   2. Five-Star Service Loyalty and Endorsement - Ambulatory Surgery Care
   3. Exemplary Service/Most Improved Care - Inpatient Care
   4. Exemplary Overall Best Performer - presented to the top 12 hospitals in
       Avatar’s national data base over 200 hospitals.
• Received the highest possible three-star rating for Coronary Artery Bypass
  Graft program by the American Society of Thoracic Surgeons.
• 500 physicians and 700 employees received CREW training, a program to
  improve patient safety. 
• Received the highest possible three-year Approval Award with nine areas
  of commendation by the American College of Surgeons Commission on
  Cancer.
• Named by U.S.News & World Report as one of “America’s Best Hospitals”
  for orthopedic care for the second consecutive year.
• 30% of St. Joseph Hospital physicians were recognized in Orange Coast
  magazine as “Physicians of Excellence” – the most of any hospital in
  Orange County.
• Completed Fiscal Year 2008 without a Ventilator Associated Pneumonia
  (VAP) in ICU/CCU.   Top

Sacred Encounters

Condition “H” Alerts Responders
Condition H empowers hospitalized patients and family members to play a more active role in their care. Sensitive approaches such as Condition H led the Baptist Healing Trust to honor St. Joseph Hospital as one of the “Top Ten Healing Hospitals in America” for the second consecutive year.

If a noticeable medical change is not recognized by the medical team or a communication breakdown occurs, the concerned patient or member of the patient’s family is encouraged to activate “Condition Help (H)” by dialing 66 from any hospital telephone and turning on the call light. The operator pages the appropriate multidisciplinary team members who respond, assess the situation and treat the patient as necessary. St. Joseph Hospital has become the first hospital in Orange County to initiate this nationally recognized program. 

Condition H grew out of the hospital’s pioneering Medical Emergency Team (MET), formed in 2004. The MET is comprised of critical care clinicians who rapidly respond and attend to patients when a call is placed by a staff member reporting a patient’s deteriorating condition. Like the MET, Condition H decreases anxiety and improves patient safety.   Top

Healthiest Communities

Aid for Our Community’s Most Vulnerable Members
La Amistad de Jose Family Health Center and Puente a la Salud Mobile Community Clinic provide Orange County’s medically underserved with access to vital healthcare services. The clinics provided medical and dental care through more than 23,000 visits this past year.

In addition, St. Joseph Hospital completed its third year of the MediKids project. Through MediKids more than 45,000 uninsured children have been enrolled in a health insurance plan and have an established medical home.   Top