Great Plains Health receives statewide excellence award for quality, process improvement
Contact: Mary Roberts
North Platte, Neb., October 5, 2022 – Great Plains Health earns the 2022 Quest for Excellence award in the non-critical access hospital division, demonstrating its commitment to emergency and heart attack patient care.
After a rigorous application process and review by committee, the Nebraska Hospital Association grants this award to hospitals that make advancements in quality improvement.
“Quality and patient care is our top priority – always,” Barb Petersen, chief quality officer, said. “It is an honor to receive this award because it is a testament to the expertise and efforts of our team.”
A team of physicians and professionals across departments at Great Plains Health won the award for improving patient flow in the emergency department when patients arrive with chest pain.
“We wanted to develop a process that helps us identify a heart attack sooner, as well as decrease the amount of time a patient is under observation for these symptoms if observation is not really needed,” Dr. James Smith, emergency medicine, said.
The team created an algorithm that uses multiple methods to assess patients’ heart attack symptoms, including a high-sensitivity cardiac troponin assay, a diagnostic H.E.A.R.T. score and a coronary CT angiogram.
“In other words, we are now using a standardized procedure with multiple layers to assess patients’ heart attack symptoms,” Dr. Azariah Kirubakaran, Great Plains Health Heart Institute, said. “This process helps us know what type of care our patients need, whether it is admitting them to the hospital for care or observation, or releasing them home for follow-up with their provider if they are very low risk.”
Dr. Smith adds that the protocol has the potential to reduce emergency department crowding and hospital admission rates for low risk patients.
“This all goes back to our desire to best help our patients and care for them at the highest level appropriate for their situation,” Dr. Smith said. “I couldn’t be more pleased with this team’s work to fine-tune such an innovative and collaborative process.”
The team members who contributed to this project are as follows: Dr. Vitaly Buza, Dr. Georgy Kaspar, Dr. Azariah Kirubakaran, Dr. Ladd Lake, Dr. James Smith, Misti Hutchison, Heather Jensen, Ashley King, Nick McKay, Laura McWha, Ivan Mitchell, Tina Pate, Barb Petersen, Jennifer Peterson, Lori Schoenholz, Londa Seamann, Melissa Veal and Alex Wilkerson.
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About Great Plains Health
Based in North Platte, Nebraska, Great Plains Health is a fully accredited, 116-bed acute-care regional medical center serving western and central Nebraska, northern Kansas and southern South Dakota. With 90 physicians representing nearly 30 medical specialties, the Great Plains Health system offers advanced health care, including heart and vascular, cancer, and orthopedic surgery services. Great Plains Health is a Level III trauma center, and all of its emergency department physicians are residency-trained and board-certified in emergency medicine. The system employs approximately 1,200 employees and serves a geographic area spanning more than 67,000 square miles. The hospital is accredited by the Center for Improvement in Healthcare Quality (CIHQ) and is home to an American College of Surgeons-accredited cancer center and Level II bariatric surgery program. For more information, visit gphealth.org.