Fairview Southdale has won the highest rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) two years in a row. The CMS awards between one and five stars to hospitals based on 57 individual quality measures. Only six percent of the hospitals in the country were awarded five stars this year, and it is rare for a hospital to get the top award two years in a row.
William Utz, M.D., practices at Southdale. He was recently the chief of staff and served on the medical executive committee at Fairview Southdale. He has also served as chairman of the department of surgery. Utz thinks the award represents all of the hard work that has gone into the hospital by every employee since it was founded just over 50 years ago.
“Healthcare is very complicated, there are so many factors that go into creating a quality healthcare operation,” Utz says. “Everyone has to work together and there needs to be an atmosphere of trust. There is a strong bond of trust between the administration and the medical staff at Southdale. That creates an atmosphere that leads to excellence of care.”
Jeoff Will, chief operating officer of the Fairview Physicians Associates, agrees the formula for success is teamwork. “You get this kind of positive result when everyone on the team feels empowered to do the right thing,” Will says.
Faye Deich, vice president of patient care, says, “We are part of this community. When you need us, we are right here.” Being near home in Edina where friends and family can easily visit and help, takes a real burden off the patient and the immediate family.
Abraham Jacob, M.D., is the chief quality officer for the Fairview Health system. His job is to make sure patients and staff are safe in the hospital and to ensure that patients receive reliable quality care. He says that citizens of Edina should also feel good about the fact that all of the Fairview Clinics in the area are tied into this exceptional hospital system. “There’s a continuum of excellent care from the time you see your doctor at one of the clinics,” he says. Whether you have a cold or you’ve had a heart attack, your care is supported by the entire health system.
Jacob also says the relationship goes both ways. “We are grateful for the significant support of the community,” he says. “We have been fortunate to have the kind of community support that we have enjoyed for 50 years.”
Deich believes that everyone who works in the hospital cares deeply about delivering the best experience possible for patients and families.
“We all come to work with goals every day,” she says. “I am incredibly proud to work with people who come here every day wanting to do their very best.”
Five stars is the best you can be … or as Dr. Utz will tell you: “The only reason we don’t have six stars, is that they only give five.”
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