|
MAGNET HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATION
 University Health System is the first and only health system in San Antonio and South Texas to earn Magnet status from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).
.
This prestigious recognition is the result of a comprehensive "Magnet Journey" that spanned more than five years. The unanimous decision of the ANCC evaluation committee was announced on February 17, 2010. University Health System is one of 360 Magnet institutions worldwide and just the 24th in Texas. It is an elite group - just six percent of the nation’s hospitals have earned this designation. Magnet is widely accepted as the "gold standard" in measuring the quality of care that healthcare consumers can expect to receive
Magnet hospitals and health systems attract the best nurses and health professionals. They also offer patients reassurance they are being cared for by a team with a proven track record for providing excellent care and positive outcomes for their patients. The recognition is also a reflection of the support the nursing staff receives in order to fulfill the health system’s mission.
The Magnet Recognition Program® was created in 1983 by the ANCC, a subsidiary of the American Nurses Association and the world’s largest and most prestigious nurse credentialing organization. Through a complex application and review process, including an intensive three‐day onsite survey, University Health System successfully demonstrated its commitment to providing excellent care for all patients, sustaining nursing excellence and transforming the culture of a work environment.
Back to Top
CERTIFIED IN PALLIATIVE CARE
 University Health System is only the third healthcare organization in Texas to achieve Advanced Certification in Palliative Care from the Joint Commission, the national accrediting body for hospitals. Palliative care is a holistic approach involving a multidisciplinary team of doctors, nurses and other professionals to relieve pain and improve the quality of life for patients suffering from a serious illness. Its focus includes the physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs of patients. The Joint Commission began the Advanced Certification Program for Palliative Care in September 2011. It recognizes hospital inpatient programs that demonstrate exceptional patient and family-centered care and improves the quality of life for patients of all ages. Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas and Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth are the only other two Texas hospitals to be certified in palliative care.
Back to Top
BEACON AWARD FOR CRITICAL CARE EXCELLENCE
University Hospital’s Transplant Intensive Care Unit (TICU) received the Beacon Award for Critical Care Excellence from the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN). The TICU team is the first intensive care unit in San Antonio and just the second transplant ICU in the nation to receive this prestigious award. Developed in 2003 by the AACN, the Beacon Award recognizes individual critical care units that exhibit high-quality standards and exceptional care for patients and families while fostering and sustaining healthy work environments.
There are about 6,000 intensive care units in the United States, and less than four percent of them have been recognized for achieving, maintaining and documenting these extremely high standards.
To receive the award, a unit must meet 42 different criteria in six categories, including: Patient outcome, Evidence-based practice and research, Leadership and organizational ethics, Excellence/innovation in recruitment and retention, Education, training, and mentoring and Promoting healing environments.
The Beacon also provides nursing care units a way to better measure systems, outcomes and environments.
U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT'S 2012-13 BEST HOSPITALS 
Once again, University Hospital is ranked the best hospital in the San Antonio metro area and 17th in Texas, according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2012-13 Best Hospitals Rankings. The 23rd annual rankings, announced in July, judge medical centers on their competence and experience in caring for patients with even the most complex medical problems.
The core mission of the Best Hospitals survey is to help guide patients who need an especially high level of care because of a difficult surgery, a challenging condition, or added risk because of other health problems or age. University Health System’s commitment is to serve every day, around the clock, with the highest level of care for everyone in Bexar County and South Texas. The U.S. News regional hospital rankings includehospitals with solid performance nearly at the level of nationally ranked institutions. “These are hospitals we call ‘high performers.’ They are fully capable of giving most patients first-rate care, even if they have serious conditions or need demanding procedures,” Avery Comarow, U.S. News Health Rankings Editor said. “Almost every major metro area has at least one of these hospitals.”
Hard numbers stand behind the rankings in most specialties – death rates, patient safety, procedure volume, and other objective data. Responses to a national survey, in which physicians were asked to name hospitals they consider best in their specialty for the toughest cases, also were factored in. Read more…
PLATINUM PERFORMANCE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
University Health System is one of just 164 hospitals nationwide to earn the Platinum Performance Achievement Award for 2012 from the American College of Cardiology Foundation’s NCDR ACTION Registry. The award recognizes University Hospital’s commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of care for heart attack patients, and in reaching an aggressive goal of treating patients with the standardized levels of care as outlined by the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) clinical guidelines and recommendations. To earn this achievement, University Health System consistently followed the treatment guidelines in the ACTION Registry–GWTG (Get with the Guidelines) Premier for 8 consecutive quarters and met a performance standard of 90% for specific performance measures. Following these treatment guidelines improves the overall quality of care provided to ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and non- ST- elevation myocardial infarction patients (NSTEMI).
STROKE GOLD QUALITY ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
University Health System has received the Get With The Guidelines®–StrokeGold Quality Achievement Award from the American Heart Association. The award recognizes University Health System’s commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of care by ensuring that stroke patients receive treatment according to nationally accepted guidelines. This marks the third year that University Health System has been recognized with a quality achievement award. Get With The Guidelines–Stroke helps University Health System’s staff develop and implement acute and secondary prevention guideline processes to improve patient care and outcomes. The program provides hospitals with a web-based patient management tool, best practice discharge protocols and standing orders, along with a robust registry and real-time benchmarking capabilities to track performance.
SILVER COLLABORATION AWARD
University Health System’s Center for Learning Excellence has received a prestigious Learning In Practice Award from Chief Learning Officer magazine. The center was awarded the Silver Collaboration Award for accomplishments in collaboratively delivering targeted employee development programs. "The Learning In Practice awards were established to recognize transformational and visionary leaders in enterprise education," said Norm Kamikow, president and editor in chief of MediaTec Publishing Inc., which publishes Chief Learning Officer magazine. "More than 200 top learning executives and solution providers were nominated by their peers in 15 categories. The winners are the industry leaders who truly champion innovation and transform it into learning and value for their organizations."
TOP 45 LEARNINGELITE AWARD 
University Health System was presented with a 2012 LearningElite award from Chief Learning Officer magazine. University Health System was ranked number 43 in the award competition. More than 200 companies applied. Developed under the guidance of chief learning officers and senior workforce development practitioners, the CLO LearningElite is the only peer-based benchmarking initiative in the industry. This pioneering program utilizes best practices in evaluation to objectively assess both the scope and the value of the learning and development services that companies provide. It recognizes excellence in five key L&D performance indicators: learning strategy, learning execution, learning impact (internal), business performance results (external) and leadership commitment.
TOP 25 CONNECTED
University Health System is once again among the Top 25 Most Connected Healthcare Facilities in the nation, according to HealthImaging & IT Magazine’s annual study of how U.S. hospitals and health systems integrate new technologies to improve quality and efficiency throughout their organizations. University Health System is the only healthcare organization in Texas to be included in this prestigious ranking and is, in fact, in the TOP ONE PERCENT in the country for integrating electronic medical records and advanced technologies.
Back to Top
American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer
University Health System’s cancer programs are accredited by the American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer. CoC accreditation assures patients that their hospital provides access to a range of services needed to diagnose, treat, rehabilitate and support patients with cancer and their families. CoC-accredited hospitals constantly monitor and evaluate the job they do and take corrective action when needed. CoC describes accreditation as “the hallmark of a program’s commitment to patient-centered cancer care.”
Back to Top
CENTERINGPREGNANCY®
 University Health System is the only non-military health system in San Antonio approved by the national Centering Healthcare Institute to provide CenteringPregnancy. CenteringPregnancy brings together groups of eight to 10 women with similar due dates. The moms-to-be meet as a group each month over the course of their pregnancies, and after delivery. With a certified midwife leading the group, they share stories and learn about what they’re going through — and what to expect next.
Back to Top
MOST WIRED 
High-tech hospitals deploy health information technology to improve care, protect patient data, optimize patient flow and improve staff communications, according to the 2012 Health Care’s Most Wired Survey findings. University Health System, owned by the people of Bexar County, is once again the only hospital in San Antonio to make this year’s list of Most Wired hospitals. University Health System is also one of just eight hospitals in Texas to be leading the nation in the use of electronic health records and for leveraging health information technology in “new and envelope-pushing ways.” The survey was released in the July issue of Hospitals & Health Networks magazine, the journal of the American Hospital Association.
The survey focuses on how organizations are planning for, utilizing and securing information technology across the entire enterprise. The survey is less about the designation and more about serving as a roadmap for how hospitals are using IT to transform their organizations, according to the report.
Back to Top
South Texas Comprehensive Epilepsy Center recognized as a Level 4 center
The South Texas Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, a partnership between University Health System and UT Medicine San Antonio, is the only Level 4 epilepsy center in San Antonio. A designation by the National Association of Epilepsy Centers. Level 4 is the highest designation for an epilepsy center, and is awarded to centers providing the most complex diagnostic and treatment options, including a broad range of surgical procedures. The center offers the most advanced medical, dietary and surgical therapies to patients whose seizures are not controlled by medications. Both inpatient and outpatient diagnostic evaluations are available. And as an academic and research program, it offers patients the opportunity to take part in trials of promising new medications and surgical interventions.
BRONZE AWARD FROM THE DONATION AND TRANSPLANTATION COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE
The University Transplant Center Lung Program received a Bronze Award from the Donation and Transplantation Community of Practice. This award recognizes high performing transplant programs and takes into account post-transplant survival rates, transplant rates and mortality rates of patients on the waitlist. Our center is one of just 13 lung transplant programs in the U.S. to receive this honor.
Back to Top
UNIVERSITY HEALTH SYSTEM IS RECOGNIZED AS A MOST CONNECTED HOSPITAL BY U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT
University Health System is the only healthcare organization in San Antonio to be included on U.S. News and World Report’s Most Connected Hospital list for 2011.
University Health System and the other 118 health organizations in the U.S. are recognized by U.S. News as the “best of the best” when it comes to advanced medical care and use of integrated and comprehensive electronic health records. These organizations are committed to providing the highest level of care, utilizing the latest technology to reduce the risk of drug interactions, medical errors, while improving communication and efficiency among the clinical staff.
To make the list, hospitals had to meet two challenging standards that demonstrated they were leading the transition of medicine into the era of EMR (Electronic Medical Records). Only hospitals that already had the distinction of a national ranking in the 2011-12 U.S. News Best Hospitals or Best Children's Hospitals rankings, or received a designation of high-performing in one or more medical specialties were even considered for the Most Connected Hospitals list. They must also be a Stage 6 or Stage 7 on the HIMSS Analytics EMR Adoption Model. HIMSS Analytics (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society Analytics) scores hospitals' adoption of electronic medical records on a scale from Stage 0 (no use of EMR) to Stage 7 (full use). University Health System is currently at Stage 6 and waiting Stage 7 verification. Only 3.5% of all U.S. hospitals have achieved HIMSS Stage 6.
Back to Top
MORE THAN 40 UNIVERSITY HEALTH SYSTEM PHYSICIANS LISTED BY U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT AS TOP DOCTORS
U.S. News & World Reporthas included 47 University Health System/UT Medicine San Antonio physicians in its 2011 directory of the nation’s Top Doctors, and 42 of those doctors received special recognition for outstanding work in their areas of specialty. The list, available online, is a compilation of the leading peer-nominated physicians across the country, and a total of 188 San Antonio physicians have earned this prestigious designation. The University Health System/UT Medicine San Antonio Top Doctors represent a physician’s wide range of specialties.
The goal of U.S. News’ Top Doctors list is to help guide consumers to top specialists and primary care doctors in their area. It was created in collaboration with Castle Connolly Medical Ltd., publisher of America’s Top Doctors and other consumer health guides. It draws from Castle Connolly’s database of Top Doctors, all recommended for their clinical skills by other physicians and individually evaluated by a physician-led research team.
EMPLOYEE LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT
 University Health System is once again recognized as one of the VERY BEST learning organizations in the world. University Health System ranked 12 in the American Society for Training & Development's (ASTD) 2011 BEST Awards program, and is among just 32 organizations from India, British Columbia, Turkey, Hong Kong and the United States to be included this year. The BEST Awards recognizes organizations that demonstrate enterprise-wide success as a result of employee learning and development. The award-winning companies are deeply committed to a successful learning environment and strongly invested in learning and performance initiatives for their employees. BEST organizations have also showed that they are BEST at Building talent, Enterprise-wide, Supported by the organization's leaders, fostering a Thorough learning culture.
University Health System, recognized for three consecutive years, was honored for its leadership development programs including the Performance Leadership Academy, Management Development Academy, Directors’ Mentoring Program, and Leadership Academy for Physicians. All of the BEST winners’ training initiatives focused on increasing productivity, developing new skills, engaging with clients and customers, and taking individual responsibility for learning. This type of strong commitment to learning has helped many of the winning organizations build a culture of integrated talent management, resulting in higher workforce retention rates and support for learning at the highest levels.
Back to Top
UNIVERSITY HEALTH SYSTEM RECEIVES CARDIOLOGY GOLD AWARD
University Health System has received the American College of Cardiology Foundation’s NCDR ACTION Registry–GWTG Gold Performance Achievement Award for 2011. The award recognizes University Health System’s commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of care for heart attack patients and signifies that University Health System has reached an aggressive goal of treating coronary artery disease patients with 85 percent compliance to core standard levels of care outlined by the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association clinical guidelines and recommendations.
University Health System consistently followed the treatment guidelines for 24 consecutive months. These include aggressive use of medications like cholesterol-lowering drugs, beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors, aspirin, and anticoagulants in the hospital. "The full implementation of acute and secondary prevention guideline-recommended therapy is a critical step in saving the lives and improving outcomes of heart attack patients,” Gregg C. Fonarow, MD, ACTION Registry - GWTG Steering Committee Chairperson and Director of Ahmanson-UCLA Cardiomyopathy Center.
The number of acute myocardial infarction patients eligible for treatment is expected to grow over the next decade due to increasing incidence of heart disease and a large aging population.
Back to Top
UNIVERSITY HEALTH SYSTEM RECEIVES STROKE SILVER AWARD
 University Health System has received the 2012 American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines®–Stroke Silver Quality Achievement Award. The award recognizes University Health System’s commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of stroke care by ensuring that stroke patients receive treatment according to nationally accepted standards and recommendations. University Health System has developed a comprehensive system for rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients admitted to the emergency department. This includes always being equipped to provide brain imaging scans, having neurologists available to conduct patient evaluations and using clot-busting medications when appropriate.
University Health System consistently followed the treatment guidelines for at least one year and achieved a compliance level of 85 percent or higher needed to sustain the award. “We commend University Health System for its success in implementing standards of care and protocols,” said Lee H. Schwamm, M.D., chair of the national Get With the Guidelines Steering Committee and director of the TeleStroke and Acute Stroke Services at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and serious, long-term disability in the United States, according to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. On average, someone suffers a stroke every 40 seconds; someone dies of a stroke every four minutes; and 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year.
Back to Top
TRAINING TOP 125
University Health System is among the top organizations in the world for employee learning, according to a recent study by Training Magazine. The health system, owned by the people of Bexar County, was among 125 organizations from Canada, India and the United States to receive a 2011 Top 125 Award for innovative and successful learning programs and practices. University Health System was particularly recognized for its Customer Service Institute, which was launched in 2010. Service Champions from 60 departments throughout the health system participated in the institute over a six-month period. Their training was focused on the organization’s corporate customer service behaviors and they were charged with sharing what they learned through their department staff meetings.
Back to Top
TOP 25 MINORITY EXECUTIVES IN HEALTHCARE
George B. Hernández, Jr., President/CEO of University Health System, was named one of Modern Healthcare magazine’s Top 25 Minority Executives in Healthcare for 2010.
 The publication’s 2010 list of its Top 25 Minority Executives in Healthcare was announced in its April 19, 2010 issue and the complete list of honorees is online at ModernHealthcare.com/topexecs2010.
An editorial review board at Modern Healthcare reviewed the nominations and judged the candidates on the following criteria:
• Successfully served as a leader or managed an organization
• Showed the ability to effect change in the healthcare industry
• Demonstrated a willingness to share expertise with others in the field
• Served as a role model to other minority healthcare executives
• Assumed a leadership position in the industry outside the candidate’s own organization
Hernández joined University Health System in 1990. He assumed the role of President/CEO in January 2005 after serving as executive vice president/assistant administrator for five years and vice president for Legal Services for 10 years.
SILVER MEDAL OF HONOR
 University Health System received an Organ Donation Silver Medal of Honor from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services at the 5th Annual National Learning Congress on Organ Donation and Transplantation on September 30, 2009. This is the second consecutive year for University Health System to be recognized for our efforts to increase organ donation in the hospital.
HIMSS STAGE 6 – INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
 In 2008, University Health System received one of the most prestigious recognitions for information technology – HIMSS Analytics' EMR Adoption Model "Stage 6" designation. Less than one percent of all healthcare organizations in the nation have achieved this stage of integration. Level 7 is the highest, and currently no healthcare organizations have met this standard. HIMSS has recognized UHS as "a great example to our industry on transforming information technology environments to achieve a level of patient care this is only a vision in most hospitals today."
Back to Top
TOP EMS AIR MEDICAL PROGRAM IN TEXAS
 San Antonio AirLIFE is the 2008 Texas' EMS Air Medical Service of the year. The award, presented by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) EMS division, honors the EMS air medical service that demonstrates the highest standards in providing patient care to the citizens of Texas. This was the third time for AirLIFE to be named the top air medical service in the state. The first recognition came in 1998, the first year this award was given by DSHS.
Back to Top
RESPIRATORY CARE
 For the seventh consecutive year, University Health System's Department of Respiratory Care received the American Association of Respiratory Care Quality Respiratory Care Recognition Award. Just 15 percent of all hospitals in the nation received this prestigious award.
|
