At the Top
- Fall 2020
This past spring Brookings Health System was recognized for the third time in four years as a Top 20 Rural Community Hospital by the National Rural Health Association, ranking nationally in the top one percent of all rural and community hospitals. But an even bigger honor for Brookings Health: the top scores patients give us for our care day-after-day.
Brookings Health works with independent research firm NRC Health to survey patients who receive services from Brookings Hospital. The health system uses that feedback to improve the patient experience. In addition, NRC Health compares Brookings Health System’s performance to other hospitals and health systems nationwide, ranging from large, metropolitan medical centers to small, critical access hospitals.
When recently compared to the peer group of other hospitals and health systems, patients consistently ranked Brookings Health’s inpatient care, obstetrics and same-day surgery services in the top percentiles for the following categories:
Top 1%: doctor/nurse explained procedure in a way that was easy to understand
Top 6%: overall rating of hospital
Top 6%: check-in process ran smoothly
Top 9%: patients received help when they wanted it
Top 10%: quiet at night
“We believe every aspect of care makes or breaks a patient’s experience,” said Quality Director Emily Delbridge. “While many people automatically think communication with doctors and nurses and receiving care at the bed side when they need it is paramount, just as important are the non-care aspects of a visit: how clean and quiet the facility is, how easy it is to register, how good the food tastes. That’s why we constantly educate our team members about delivering an exceptional patient experience. At Brookings Health, we don’t want to wow one person only one time, but we want to impress each patient each and every time.”
Brookings Health System’s current patient experience education focuses on re-educating team members to live the organization’s core values: trust, integrity, respect, accountability, compassion, teamwork and excellence.
“Our values are integral to our organization and the care we deliver, so much that we even have them written in stone in our Grand Lobby,” said Delbridge. “Our goal is to be a five-star facility and to remain a Top 20 Rural Community Hospital. Reminding our team about our core values and teaching them how to show those values in the services they deliver to our patients will help us reach our goal and remain a nationally ranked facility.”
Want to learn more about the high quality care at Brookings Health? Visit brookingshealth.org/Quality.