Butler Health System | Butler Health | Spring 2018

HEALTH LINK Butler Health System complies with applicable federal civil rights laws and does not discrimi- nate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex. ATENCIÓN: si habla español, tiene a su disposición servicios gratuitos de asistencia lingüística. TTY: 711 . 注意：如果您使用繁體中文，您可以免費獲得語言援助服務。 TTY: 711 。 Numbers to know Butler Memorial Hospital Main. . . 724-283-6666 Central Scheduling. . . . . . . . 1-877-247-2717 2018 started with good news for Butler Health System: As featured in our cover story, Butler Memorial Hospital was selected as a 100 Top Hospital in the U.S. by IBM Watson Health. You can read what this means in terms of superior patient care and clinical results, strong financial performance, and higher levels of patient satisfaction. What I like about this award are two things: 1. Hospitals do not apply for it. And if it is won, win- ners don’t have to pay for marketing and promotional rights to talk about it, as is true with so many other awards. 2. The award uses a balanced scorecard methodol- ogy. This means that a combination of data is analyzed to give a full picture of a hospital’s performance. The data includes clinical, financial, patient satisfaction and ongoing improvement measurements. BMH earns prestigious Everest Award Speaking of ongoing improvement, in addition to being designated a 100 Top Hospital, we were pleased to learn that Watson Health also named Butler Memo- rial Hospital an Everest Award winner. This is a select group. To even be considered for the Everest Award, a hospital first must be named to the Top 100. Then, criteria are analyzed to see which of those Top 100 hospitals have consistently improved over a period of five years. BMH was one of only 13 hospitals in the United States to achieve this level of performance. This recognition happens as a direct result of the very purposeful and diligent work of BHS doctors, nurses, allied health professionals, technicians, support staff and volunteers. It is the result of about 2,500 people waking up each and every day and doing their very best in caring for you and your family. These are the people of Butler Health System, and it is my honor to work with them. Striving to be the best, for you As we look to the future, the challenges are significant. U.S. healthcare costs continue to escalate at an unaf- fordable rate. There is a great effort by Medicare, Medicaid and commercial health insurance to bring these costs down. And in the for-profit sector, giant mergers are taking place. Major pharmaceutical, pharmacy and national health insurance companies are acquiring one another. Companies that have changed the world’s retail and communications landscape, such as Amazon and Apple, are now making moves into the healthcare space. Some healthcare providers have responded to these changes and pressures by merging into very large systems. But despite all of this merger and acquisition activity, there remains little to no evidence that costs come down and quality improves. What is for sure in these deals is that local leadership, governance and control is given up. We study these market changes very closely. We continue to believe that if a health system is delivering high-quality care at a competitive price, it can con- tinue to maintain its independence and respond to the unique features and nuances of its local community. I have said to our staff many times over the years, “There has to be one best community hospital and health system in the country; why shouldn’t it be BHS?” You can see that the people of BHS have risen to that challenge, and it is being recognized. You can also see that bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better. Thank you for supporting Butler Health System. You are why we are here, and it is our privilege to serve you. Thank you for supporting Butler Health System. You are why we are here, and it is our privilege to serve you. Butler Memorial Hospital named one of the 100 Top Hospitals in America HEALTH LINK is published as a community service for the friends and patrons of: BUTLER MEMORIAL HOSPITAL 1 Hospital Way, Butler, PA 16001-4670 724-283-6666 • butlerhealthsystem.org Ken DeFurio President and CEO Jana Panther Director of Marketing and Public Relations Anne Lehman Editor People who are hearing-impaired can access the hospital by calling the AT&T operator at 1-800-654-5988 (voice) or 1-800-654-5984 (TDD). The caller can then notify the AT&T relay system operator and request relay services to BMH at 724-283-6666. Information in HEALTH LINK comes from a wide range of medical experts. If you have any concerns or questions about specific content that may affect your health, contact your health care provider. Models may be used in photos and illustrations. BUTLER MEMORIAL HOSPITAL is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on any basis, including a person’s age, sex, color, race, religious beliefs, national origin, disability or lifestyle. BMH also provides services without discrimination regardless of a person’s age, sex, color, race, religious beliefs, national origin, disability, veteran’s status, lifestyle or source of payment. 2018 © Coffey Communications, Inc. All rights reserved. Ken DeFurio, President and CEO 2 |