KPVI News 6 - Tuesday, November 18, 2014
On Tuesday officials at Portneuf Medical Center announced the hospital received an award saved for the best hospitals in the country. The Joint Commission awarded Portneuf with its Top Performer on Key Quality Measures.
Portneuf Medical Center is now one of just 1,200 hospitals in the country to be recognized by the Joint Commission.The Joint Commission makes sure hospitals are doing their jobs when it comes to patient safety and quality outcomes.
Portneuf Medical Center CEO Dan Ordyna said the hospital received honors in treating heart attack, heart failure readmission, pneumonia, and surgical care.
"Sends a message to our employees that what they are doing is working and also sends to the people that we serve here in this community and surrounding communities that they are going to get world class care at our hospital," said Ordyna.
Chief of Cardiac Surgery, Jacob Delarosa, says this award distinguishes Portneuf on a different level of safety in regards to the top tier of hospitals.
"Patients when they come to the hospital most important thing is they want to feel safe, feel they're not going to be hurt, they're not going to die, they aren't going to have a complications, and we have demonstrated that at a very significant level," said Delarosa.
Delarosa says this award will help increase the confidence the community and the region has in Portneuf. The hospital treats patients from Eastern Idaho and neighboring Utah, Montana, Washington and Oregon
"This is just one more accolade to show why we are that center," Delarosa said.
Ordyna says this is an achievement that the hospital has been working toward for many years and it's something that nurses, doctors, physicians, and administrators are all proud of.
"It’s always nice to get the accolades that these folks deserve for all their hard work"
Three other hospitals in Idaho have been accredited by the Joint Commission including West Valley Medical Center in Caldwell, Saint Alphonsus Medical Center in Nampa, and St. Luke’s Regional Medical Center in Twin Falls.