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Virginia Mason Receives Top Honors for ‘Green’ Health Care

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Virginia Mason has received the most prestigious environmental achievement award offered by Practice Greenhealth.

During a ceremony in Portland, Ore. yesterday, Virginia Mason was presented a Top 25 Environmental Excellence Award that recognizes the health system for setting high standards for environmental practices in health care.

Award winners were chosen from hospitals that have the highest scores for the Greenhealth Emerald Award using Practice Greenhealth’s scoring and evaluation system. Practice GreenHealth is a leading health care community that empowers its members to increase their environmental safeguards while improving patient safety and care.

“Virginia Mason is one of the greenest hospitals in the nation,” said Brenna Davis, director, Sustainability. “This achievement is a testament to the tireless efforts by everyone at our organization to protect the natural environment for current and future generations.”

Through its EnviroMason environmental stewardship initiative Virginia Mason diverted more than 3,400 tons of waste from landfills between 2009 and 2013. It recycles more than 50 percent of its waste overall, compared to the health care industry average of 20 percent. With its energy conservation programs, Virginia Mason avoided using 7.3 million gallons of water and 3.4 million kilowatt hours of electricity from 2012 through 2014. Those energy savings equate to estimated cost savings of $439,664 in water and $607,498 for electricity during the three-year period.

Also, Virginia Mason recently joined nine other leading health care institutions in launching the 2020 Health Care Climate Challenge a global campaign to mobilize hospitals and health systems to do even more to protect the environment.

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Virginia Mason to Receive 2015 Washington Quality Award for Improving Patient Safety

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Virginia Mason will receive a 2015 Washington Award of Excellence in Healthcare Quality for reducing the risk of potentially fatal blood clots in patients.

The award will be presented on May 13 by Qualis Health President and CEO Jonathan Sugarman, MD, MPH, during a ceremony at the Northwest Patient Safety Conference in Lynnwood, Wash. Qualis Health is one of the nation’s leading quality improvement and population health management organizations.

Virginia Mason is being honored for a multiyear project, titled “Venous Thromboembolism (VTE) Prophylaxis Journey,” in which clinical teams developed standard processes designed to prevent VTE, the third-most common cause of hospital-related deaths in the United States. (A venous thrombus is a blood clot within a vein. A VTE occurs when a blood clot breaks loose and travels in the blood).

The Virginia Mason project began in 2009 when multiple interventions were put in place, including implementing an evidence-based VTE protocol in all admission orders, establishing real-time visual cues that prompt risk assessment for patients, and improving patient education.

Also, the hospital has achieved a 20-month rolling average of 100-percent compliance with VTE prophylaxis in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU); a 12-month rolling average of 97.4 percent compliance on all non-ICU floors, and dramatically shortened lead times for VTE ordering and patient-risk assessments.

“Providing high quality care and ensuring patient safety are our highest priorities at Virginia Mason,” said Charleen Tachibana, RN, senior vice president for Quality and chief nursing officer at Virginia Mason. “Our work to reduce VTE risks mirrors our commitment to transforming health care by continuously improving quality and safety, and raising the bar for excellence.”

Virginia Mason is one of seven organizations in Washington that are receiving awards from Qualis Health for achievements in improving care quality and outcomes. This is the fourth year Virginia Mason has won the award for excellence; it was recognized for different quality and outcome initiatives in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

“Our changing health care landscape requires increasingly vigorous efforts to improve health care delivery and health outcomes in Washington and across the nation,” Dr. Sugarman said. “The Qualis Health Washington Quality Awards celebrate organizations that have transformed health care delivery for their communities – making a real difference for their patients and their families. Their achievements exemplify the aims of improved health care: better quality of care at a lower cost.”

Since 2002, Qualis Health has presented Awards of Excellence in Healthcare Quality to organizations in Idaho and Washington. The awards recognize demonstrated outcomes that support the three broad aims of the National Quality Strategy: Better health care (for individuals); better health (for populations); and reduced cost through improvement. Learn more about Qualis at www.QualisHealth.org.

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Virginia Mason Earns Outstanding Patient Experience Award for 3rd Consecutive Year

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Virginia Mason was named a recipient of the Healthgrades’ Outstanding Patient Experience Award for the third consecutive year.

“When patients come to a hospital, they expect great service and a positive experience just like any other industry,” said Virginia Mason Chairman and CEO Gary S. Kaplan, MD. “This award is due to the hard work of all our team members dedicated to ensuring every patient has a remarkable experience at Virginia Mason.”

This distinction makes Virginia Mason the only hospital in Seattle named a three-time award recipient, and places the organization among the top 10 percent of hospitals in the nation for patient experience. Also, this makes Virginia Mason the only hospital in the state to be named among America’s 100 Best Hospitals and among America’s best for Patient Experience.

Healthgrades, an online resource for information about physicians and hospitals, evaluated Virginia Mason’s performance as assessed by the hospital’s patients across 27 different questions that roll up to 10 distinct measures. Ranging from cleanliness and noise levels in a patient room, to factors such as pain management and responsiveness to patient’s needs, the measures also include whether a patient would recommend the hospital to friends or family.

Healthgrades evaluated 3,575 hospitals that submitted patient surveys to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, covering admissions from January 2013 through December 2013, to assess those hospitals that are leading the nation in delivering the best patient experience. To be eligible for the patient experience award, hospitals had to meet additional clinical quality requirements. This ensures recipient hospitals are delivering strong outcomes in addition to an excellent patient experience during the hospitalization.

Only top-performing hospitals received the 2015 award, and Virginia Mason is one of six award winners in Washington State.

“Today, more than ever before, consumers face decisions – and research their options – relating to where to obtain care, so factors like patient experience are increasingly important,” said Evan Marks, chief strategy officer, Healthgrades. “Consumers can have confidence that hospitals that have achieved the Healthgrades 2015 Outstanding Patient Experience Award deliver a positive experience for patients during their hospital stay.”

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Dr. Kaplan Named One of Most Influential Physician Executives

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Virginia Mason Chairman and CEO Gary S. Kaplan, MD, is ranked No. 10 in Modern Healthcare’s annual list of the 50 Most Influential Physician Executives and Leaders. The list was released in the magazine’s April 6 edition.

This is the 10th time Dr. Kaplan has been named to this exclusive list. Modern Healthcare created the list to honor physicians working in the health care industry who are deemed by their peers and an expert panel to be the most influential in terms of demonstrating leadership and impact. These physician leaders are innovators, excel in community services and demonstrate reputable executive authority.

Earlier this year, the magazine’s readers voted for one of 150 physician executives whom they view as the most influential physician executive. Readers’ votes counted for 50 percent of the outcome. The other 50 percent came from the opinions of the senior editors at Modern Healthcare.

Joining Dr. Kaplan on the list are hospital CEOs, physicians who are in government organizations and those representing consumer and professional organizations.

Not only is this an honor for Dr. Kaplan, it is tremendous recognition for the entire Virginia Mason team. Dr. Kaplan’s leadership and influence is reflected in the high quality care physicians, nurses and all team members provide to our patients every day. Under his leadership, Virginia Mason has become an international leader in health care innovation, quality, service and patient safety.

Congratulations to Dr. Kaplan and the Virginia Mason team for this outstanding recognition.