EMPLOYEE LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT

University Health System is ranked 18 in the American Society for Training & Development's (ASTD) 2009 BEST Awards program, and is among just 39 organizations from Canada, Hong Kong, India, Singapore, and the United States to receive a BEST Award this year.

The BEST Awards recognize organizations that demonstrate enterprise-wide success as a result of employee learning and development. These award-winning companies have made a strong investment in learning, created a safe and engaging learning environment, and used new and innovative technologies to design and deliver learning.

University Health System was recognized for its efforts to develop and retain capable employees through its newly created Institute for Leaders, a multi-tiered leadership development program to establish its current supervisors into the health system's leaders of tomorrow. Four programs operated by the institute are the Performance Leadership Academy, Management Development Academy, Directors' Mentoring Program, and Leadership Academy for Physicians.

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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 UHS to be recognized for our efforts to increase organ donation in the hospital.

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IMAGEN AWARD

University Health System is the 2009 recipient of the National Imagen Award for Best On-air Advertising (public service announcement) for our “How I Stay Safe” Child Injury television spot.

The 24th Annual Imagen Awards was held Friday, August 21, 2009 in Beverly Hills, California.  This prestigious awards event was established in 1986 to encourage and recognize the positive portrayal of Latinos in the media.  Other nominees in our category were the U.S. Army, the National Kidney Foundation, Fox Sports and Budweiser.

University Health System is in good company.  Winners in other categories in 2009 include:  Walt Disney's Beverly Hills Chihuahua, ABC's Ugly Betty, Dora the Explorer, as well as the documentary A Class Apart.

"We are extremely honored by this recognition. As the only Level I trauma center in South Texas caring for seriously injured children, our mission includes educating parents and children on what they can do to reduce the risk of injury. We have received excellent feedback on this engaging campaign, and this award certainly validates our efforts to provide factual information in a way that gets noticed by viewers," said University Health System President/CEO George B. Hernández, Jr. 

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TOP 25 CONNECTED

University Health System is one of the Top 25 Connected Healthcare Facilities in the country according to a 2009 study by HealthImaging Magazine, and making the total transition away from paper documents is much more complex than merely implementing an electronic medical record (EMR). "It's about integration of multiple systems into the EMR. Picture Archiving Systems, OR systems, bed-tracking, anesthesia…almost all patient care functions are electronic and integrated," explains Bill Phillips, University Health System vice president/Chief Information Officer. read more...

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MOST WIRED

University Health System has been recognized as one of the 100 Most Wired Hospitals and Health Systems in the nation, according to the findings of the 2008 Most Wired Survey and Benchmarking Study. Hospitals & Health Networks magazine, the journal of the American Hospital Association, conducted the study, which focuses on how the nation's hospitals use information technology for quality, customer service, public health, safety, business processes and workforce issues. read more...

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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."

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CHIME AWARD FOR TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP

University Health System's success in going "digital" with the roll-out and integration of key technologies, like an electronic medical record, computerized physician orders and results, as well as a Picture Archiving & Communication digital imaging system, resulted in its President/CEO George B. Hernández, Jr. and vice president/Chief Information Officer Bill Phillips to receive the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives' (CHIME) and the American Hospital Association's (AHA) Transformational Leadership Award for 2008. This award is given to the one healthcare organization in the nation determined to have successfully undergone a large scale transformation.

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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.

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HIGH QUALITY CARDIAC CARE

University Health System received the American College of Cardiology Foundation's NCDR ACTION Registry–GWTG Silver Performance Achievement Award for 2009 – one of only 36 hospitals nationwide to do so. 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 the standard levels of care outlined by the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association.

To receive the ACTION Registry–GWTG Silver Performance Achievement Award, University Health System consistently followed the treatment guidelines in ACTION Registry–GWTG for 12 consecutive months. These include aggressive use of medications like cholesterol-lowering drugs, beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors, aspirin, and anticoagulants in the hospital.

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EYE BANK HOSPITAL OF THE YEAR

In 2008, 75 people were given the gift of renewed sight thanks to corneas donated at University Hospital. As the top donor hospital in the south Texas region, University Hospital was recognized by the San Antonio Eye Bank as its “Hospital of the Year” in July 2009.

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RESPIRATORY CARE

For the eighth 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.

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CITY/COUNTY COOPERATION AWARD

The San Antonio Metropolitan Health District and Bexar County's University Health System were honored by the Texas Municipal League (TML) and Texas Association of Counties with the 2008 City-County Cooperation Award. The award commends the two public health entities for a City-County integration effort aimed at creating a high-performing public health care system for the community.

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