In the News

Valley Baptist-Brownsville Receives National Award
for Heart Catheterization 

BROWNSVILLE, July 19, 2006 – Valley Baptist Medical Center-Brownsville has received a nation-wide award for outpatient care by its Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory from Professional Research Consultants (PRC), a national healthcare marketing research company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska.

The 4-Star award is given annually to healthcare facilities that score in the top 25 percent nationally for the prior calendar year. The award is figured on the percentage of patients who rated the facility as “excellent” for overall quality of care in 2005.

“We are proud to honor Valley Baptist Medical Center-Brownsville as they have worked hard to make their facility an excellent place for their patients,” said Joe M. Inguanzo, Ph.D., President and CEO of PRC. “We commend them for their commitment to provide first-rate healthcare for their community.”

James G. Springfield, FACHE, President and Chief Executive Officer of Valley Baptist Health System, noted that the award was the result of concerted team efforts to continuously maximize the quality of care for all patients at Valley Baptist. “There is no greater priority for our health system than continuous improvement so that we can provide the best possible outcomes for each of our patients,” Mr. Springfield added.

VBMC-Brownsville actually has two cardiac catheterization laboratories, including a new Cardiac and Peripheral Combo Lab which is used for procedures involving blood vessels outside the heart area, such as those involving the renal (kidneys) area, legs, arm grafts, etc., as well as for procedures involving arteries of the heart. The new G.E. combo room is also used by Dr. Mark Cua, Cardiologist, for electrophysiological studies, as well as ablations.

“We’re excited to have this state-of-the-art equipment,” said Jim Wesson, Chief Executive Officer for Valley Baptist-Brownsville. “The additional cath lab has allowed us to continue to work with an outstanding group of cardiologists who provide a high level of cardiac care to our community.”

“Since we have two cath labs, we are able to do more procedures, and patient wait time is decreased,” added Rudy Sanchez, Cath Lab Director for VBMC-Brownsville. “Additionally, more patients can have morning procedures, and can be discharged by the afternoon or early evening.”

VBMC-Brownsville also has a Cardiac Out Patient Area (COPA), which is specifically designed for patients who have had catheterizations. After a procedure in the Cath Lab, the patient is moved just a few feet down the hall to this specialized area.

“This allows for a seamless experience that works well for patients, their families and physician,” Mr. Sanchez said. “Our cardiac catheterization staff is the most experienced in Brownsville … the cardiologists know this, and leverage the experience of everyone in the room, which is team work at its best.”

In addition to the efficiency of the cath lab itself, patients at VBMC-Brownsville benefit from a streamlined outpatient registration process which allows patients to pre-register from their home over the telephone, so there is less waiting time when they come into the hospital for heart and other outpatient procedures. The turnaround time from when a patient arrives to the start of their procedure has been reduced dramatically through a “Six Sigma” quality improvement program. Valley Baptist was one of the first hospitals in the country to institute the Six Sigma program in order to maximize performance and patient satisfaction throughout the health system.

PRC’s awards are based on patient satisfaction research which is conducted to obtain the opinions of patients at Valley Baptist-Brownsville and at hundreds of other hospitals across the country. Patients are contacted by telephone for a confidential interview to assess their perceptions of patient care. The research findings are then presented to the hospital to use in continuous improvement and enhancement of patient satisfaction.

The award was presented to Valley Baptist-Brownsville at the 2006 National Excellence in Healthcare Awards dinner held in June, 2006 in Omaha, Nebraska. Hospital leaders from across the United States gathered to participate in the 2006 PRC Client Education Conference.

Professional Research Consultants is in its 26th year of providing market research for hospitals across the United States. For more information on the Six Sigma quality improvement program at Valley Baptist, please click here.