Congratulations! Once again all of you, our faculty and staff, have been recognized as the best of the best. The latest US News & World Report rankings were released today and for the 17th consecutive year, we have been ranked as one of “America’s Best Hospitals.” And for the very first time we were named to the Honor Roll of hospitals, of the 4,681 hospitals in the entire country, only 21, less than half a percent, were chosen. This is an INCREDIBLE accomplishment and reflects the excellent work of all of you.
Additionally, our heart program was ranked for the first time this year. Of 50 programs they were ranked number 37! Congratulations to Dr. Tom Ryan, Larry Anstine, our nursing leadership and nurses, Dr. Charlie Bush, Dr. Bill Abraham and all the faculty and staff who make the OSU Heart Program a national leader.
Our cancer program was ranked #18 in the country, an all-time high. Thanks to all the faculty and staff at the James and Comprehensive Cancer Center and especially to Dr. Michael Caliguiri and Dr. David Schuller for their leadership.
Other specialties ranked this year are: endocrinology & diabetes, urology, renal disorders, respiratory diseases, ENT, gynecology, orthopedics, and rehabilitation.
This continued national recognition demonstrates that your dedication to creating the future of medicine to improve people's lives is being noticed by colleagues across the country. Thank you for the teamwork and excellence that makes this honor and others including being named one of America’s best medical schools possible.
Teamwork and excellence are also keys to providing the outstanding service that will help us become a leader in patient satisfaction as well.
A great new example of teamwork in action is our Nutrition Services team who have started a pilot program called Dining on Demand to improve our patient experience. Pete Geier, Larry Anstine and I visited one of these new kitchens this week. The staff there are so dedicated to their work. And early feedback shows that our patients love it too!
Dining on Demand is a unique service that allows patients to choose their food and to choose when they’d like to have it delivered. Each patient receives a restaurant-style menu with food choices. A nutrition aide or nurse visits the room to obtain their selections for upcoming meals and to ask when they’d like to have the meals delivered.
When the meal comes, there is also an option for a guest to purchase a box lunch for a small fee.
The program has been piloted on 7 Doan. We’ve heard from patients who are telling us how good the food is and how surprised they are to have such delicious food choices in a hospital.
Beginning in January of 2010, we will begin phasing in an expanded version of this program to other units over the next three years. Our goal is access to this service for all patients. The main benefits are:
- The patient has control over when they eat and what they eat.
- Meals are prepared closer to the point of service -on the floors rather than in a kitchen.
- Nutrition Services can modify the menu for each patient population such as obstetrics patients, cancer patients and others and offer the foods that will best meet the healthcare needs of those individuals.
Innovative programs like these are helping us provide better service to our patients and their families. Thanks to all those involved in planning and implementing this Dining on Demand program and to all of you for focusing on making the patient experience so excellent here at the Medical Center.
Well, have a great Honor Roll Week.