Hunt named city

Employee of the Month

VALDOSTA – The City of Valdosta named Joshua Hunt as October Employee of the Month.

Hunt was presented with the Employee of the Month for October by Mayor Scott James Matheson and Anetra Riley, neighborhood development and community protections manager, during a recent Valdosta City Council meeting, city officials said in a recently released statement.

Hunt was nominated for going above and beyond putting out a fire during an investigation of a delivery. Hunt received a framed certificate, a check and his name on a plaque in city.

SGMC earns quality

accreditation

VALDOSTA – South Georgia Medical Center health officials recently announced the successful completion of a new accreditation process at its hospital campuses in Lowndes, Lanier and Berrien counties, as well as the stroke program at main campus.

The system is accredited by DNV’s accreditation program, Integrated Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, hospital officials said in a statement.

By earning accreditation, SGMC has demonstrated that it meets or exceeds patient safety standards set forth by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

NIAHO involves annual hospital surveys – instead of every three years – and encourages hospitals to openly share information across departments and to discover improvements in clinical workflows and safety protocols.

“DNV’s accreditation program is the only one to integrate the ISO 9001 Quality Management System with the medicare conditions of participation,” hospital officials said. “ISO 9001 relies on systematic, repeatable and well-deployed practices that ensure safe patient care.

“It is the most widely accepted quality management system in use around the world and provides a strong foundation for hospital quality, patient safety and high-reliability programs.”

“The DNV program is consistent with our long-term commitment to quality, patient safety, and high reliability,” said Ronald E. Dean, SGMC president and chief executive officer. “The ability to integrate ISO 9001 quality standards with our clinical processes is a major step forward in our high-reliability organization journey.”

SGMC anticipates achieving compliance with ISO 9001 within three years of accreditation.

“This is the world’s most trusted quality management system used by performance-driven organizations around the world to advance their quality and sustainability objectives,” hospital officials said.

“We have taken an entirely different approach to accreditation, and hospitals are really responding,” said Kelly Proctor, DNV Healthcare USA president. “Since accreditation is a must-have credential for just about every hospital in this country, why not make it more valuable and get more out of it? That’s where ISO 9001 comes into play and turns the typical get-your-ticket-punched accreditation exercise into a quality transformation.”

For more information, visit sgmc.org.

SGMC names DAISY

award winner

VALDOSTA – Registered nurses Will Copeland, Amber Cowart, Tammy Jones and Abi Tillman, nurse practitioner Tana Macera and pulmonologist Dr. Apurva Panwala were recognized for their compassionate care at the end of a patient’s life.

The team was nominated by the family of the late Susan Radford, who spent the final month of her life at SGMC, hospital officials said in a statement.

According to the nomination, Radford’s caregivers went above and beyond to make sure her needs and wishes were met in her final days. When Radford shared that her great-nephew was marching in the Valdosta High School homecoming parade, her nurses went to great lengths to move her to a spot where she could watch, hospital officials said.

The care team rolled her bed and ICU equipment into the hallway to the window for the perfect viewing angle above the parade route.

The following day, staff ensured she was not alone and could be surrounded by her loved ones. This included bringing in her six “grands” to share Dixie Cream doughnuts with her and see her one last time.

“They did as much as they could to make her final days the best they could be,” according to a statement from her family, shared by the hospital.

Radford passed peacefully two days later with her family by her side, hospital officials said.

SGMC continues to ask patients and fellow employees to honor nurses they feel go above and beyond in their actions and care. Nominations are reviewed by a committee based on criteria that include compassion, teamwork, leadership, attitude and skills and knowledge.

DAISY awards are presented monthly in front of the nurse’s colleagues, physicians, patients and visitors. Each honoree receives a certificate commending her or him for being an “extraordinary nurse.” They also receive a sculpture called “A Healer’s Touch,” hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Africa.

To nominate a nurse for the DAISY award, visit sgmc.org.