Wallowa Memorial Hospital and Medical Clinics Providing Award Winning Care in Wallowa County
By Garrett Christensen on Friday, November 1st, 2024 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
WALLOWA – (Release from Wallowa Memorial Hospital) Over the past month, the awards and recognition have been rolling in for Wallowa Memorial Hospitals and Medical Clinics, the cornerstones of the Wallowa County Health Care District.
On August 29th, the Oregon Health Authority announced that Wallowa Memorial Medical Clinics has been awarded a 5 STAR designation by the Patient Centered Primary Care Home Program. This is the highest level designation available and reflects the extent to which WMMC has demonstrated excellence in providing high quality person and family-centered care.
Patient-Centered Primary Care Homes are health care clinics that have been recognized by the Oregon Health Authority for their commitment to providing high quality, patient-centered care.
Oregon’s PCPCH Program is designed to provide high-quality, accessible, and coordinated healthcare to all Oregonians. It’s based on the principles of patient-centered care, which prioritize the needs and preferences of the patient.
The core principles of the program include:
- Accessibility: Patients have easy access to care.
- Accountability: Healthcare providers take responsibility for ensuring patients receive the best possible care.
- Comprehensive Whole-Person Care: Providers address the patient’s physical, mental, and social health needs.
- Continuity: Patients have consistent relationships with their primary care providers over time.
- Coordination and Integration: Providers work together to ensure seamless care across different healthcare settings.
- Person and Family-Centered Care: Patients and their families are recognized as the most important part of the care team and are involved in decision-making.
These principles are designed to create a healthcare system that is patient-focused, efficient, and effective. By prioritizing these core values, Oregon’s PCPCH Program aims to improve health outcomes, reduce costs, and enhance the overall quality of care.
When asked about the award, Craig Swart, Clinic Executive said “The measures in this program are difficult to implement. It takes commitment, attention to detail, accountability and patience. I am so proud of our team for the work they have done and continue to do to support the health and wellness of Wallowa County and its residents.”
Out of a total of 619 PCPCH clinics in the state, only 115 of these facilities are 5 STAR clinics.
The next two awards include state and national recognition for programs at Wallowa Memorial Hospital. Wallowa Memorial Hospital is proud to announce that it has been recognized with the prestigious Oregon Office of Rural Health Quality Award. This award celebrates the hospital’s exceptional commitment to providing high-quality healthcare services to the rural community it serves.
The Oregon Office of Rural Health Quality Award recognizes organizations that demonstrate outstanding performance in areas such as patient safety, quality of care, and community engagement. Wallowa Memorial Hospital was selected for this award based on its Community Balance and Fall Prevention Program. This program is aimed at reducing the prevalence and severity of falls among Wallowa County’s older adults. This unique program involves participation amongst multiple departments, including quality, primary care, physical and occupational therapy, nursing, EMS, population health, and more.
“We are thrilled to receive this award, which demonstrates the dedication and hard work of our entire team, not just one department” said Stacey Karvoski, Quality Improvement Director at Wallowa Memorial Hospital.
The most recent recognition comes from The American Heart Association. For efforts to optimize stroke care and eliminate rural health care outcome disparities, Wallowa Memorial has received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines – Stroke Rural Recognition Silver Award. The Silver Award is given to facilities that have participated in the program for at least 12 months. The Gold Award is reserved for those who have participated for 24 months or more and WMH has a goal or receiving the Gold Award in 2025.
People who live in rural communities live an average of three years fewer than urban counterparts and have a 40% higher likelihood of developing heart disease and face a 30% increased risk for stroke mortality – Wallowa Memorial Hospital is committed to changing that.
“We are proud that our team is being recognized for the important work we do every day to improve the lives of people in Wallowa County who are affected by stroke, giving them the best possible chance of recovery and survival,” said Jenni Word, Chief Nursing Officer. “As a hospital in a frontier community, we deal with characteristics such as extended inter-facility transportation times, and limited resources. We’ve made it a goal to make sure those hurdles do not affect the standard of care our stroke patients receive.”
The award recognizes hospitals for their efforts toward acute stroke care excellence demonstrated by composite score compliance to guideline-directed care for intravenous thrombolytic therapy, timely hospital inter-facility transfers, dysphagia screening, symptom timeline and deficit assessment documentation, emergency medical services communication, brain imaging and stroke expert consultation.
“Patients and health care professionals in Wallowa County face unique health care challenges and opportunities,” said Karen E. Joynt Maddox, M.D., MPH, volunteer expert for the American Heart Association, co-author on “Call to Action: Rural Health: A Presidential Advisory From the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association” and co-director of the Center for Health Economics and Policy at the Institute for Public Health at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. “Wallowa Memorial has furthered this important work to improve care for all Americans, regardless of where they live.”
When asked about the recent award, Wallowa Memorial CEO, Dan Grigg says “We are incredibly honored to receive these awards. They are a testament to the hard work, dedication, and compassion of our entire team. Our mission is to provide premier healthcare to our community, and these awards validate our commitment to that goal.”
