HDH Among America's Top 50 Hospitals

February 26, 2009 Henrico Doctors' is the only hospital in the Richmond and Central Virginia regions to be included among HealthGrades' America's Best 50 Hospitals for 2009. HealthGrades has compiled this list of hospitals for three year, and Henrico Doctors' has made the cut each year.

Only hospitals that consistently receive HealthGrades Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence™ are considered for this list, and HDH has received the DHA-CE for seven years in a row.

Patients admitted to an America’s 50 Best Hospital are approximately 27 percent less likely to die and eight percent less likely to suffer from a major complication than patients admitted to non-recipient hospitals, according to HealthGrades, the nation’s leading independent healthcare ratings organization.

Henrico Doctors' Hospital Recognized for Clinical Excellence

January 27, 2009 When HealthGrades recently announced its list of the 270 hospitals nationwide that were awarded the 2009 Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence™ by the leading healthcare ratings company, Henrico Doctors' Hospital was on the list yet again. That makes seven consecutive years Henrico Doctors' has achieved this distinction, and it's the only hospital in the Commonwealth of Virginia to do so. Winning this award also places Henrico Doctors' Hospital in the top five percent of the nation's hospitals for overall clinical quality.

Henrico Doctors’ CEO Pat Farrell said of the distinction, "To receive this prestigious award is an honor. To receive it seven years in a row is a tribute to our entire clinical team of physicians, nurses and other staff who consistently demonstrate our commitment to improving the quality of patient care."

According to the HealthGrades study, which is risk-adjusted to account for differences in patient populations between hospitals, the recognized hospitals had mortality rates that were, on average, 27 percent lower than other hospitals and major complication rates that were eight percent lower. HealthGrades estimates that 152,666 lives could have been saved and 11,772 complications could have been avoided over a three-year period if all Medicare patients were treated at Distinguished Hospitals for Clinical Excellence.

HDH Receives Consumer Choice Award

October 6, 2008 The National Research Corporation announced on Sept. 29, 2008, that Henrico Doctors' Hospital has been awarded the 2008/2009 Consumer Choice Award for the Richmond metropolitan statistical area. The award is given on the basis of direct surveys of consumers in each market.

The NRC's annual Healthcare Market Guide Study, the nation's largest and most comprehensive study of consumer perceptions about the quality of their local hospitals, revealed that Henrico Doctors', in a tie with VCU Health Sysytem, is at the top of the list for the Richmond market.

Patrick Farrell, Henrico Doctors' CEO, said of the honor, "We strive in every way to provide the highest quality patient care possible. This award is evidence that the community we serve has confidence in our ability to take care of them and their families."

Henrico Doctors' Hospital has been honored by the Richmond metropolitan statistical area with the NRC Consumer Choice Award for five out of the last eight years.

HCA Richmond Offers Internship in Operating Room Nursing

With the average age of OR nurses being higher than 49, the national average for all registered nurses, it is estimated that ORs will lose between 35 and 40 percent of their nurses within the next five years.

In an effort to offset the specific effects of the nursing shortage on the pool of available OR nurses, HCA Richmond Health System is looking to increase that pool through an Internship in Operating Room Nursing.

The internship will begin on April 21 and will utilize the Periop 101: A Core Curriculum™ developed by the Association of peri-Operative Registered Nurses. The program combines didactic training and clinical rotations with a preceptor through HCA Richmond's four hospitals — CJW Medical Center, Retreat Hospital, John Randolph Medical Center, and Henrico Doctors' Hospital. It will last from six to nine months depending on individual progress.

Applicants must have at least one year of hospital experience, and there are seven available openings. At the end of the program and in consultation with both the hospitals' OR directors and the clinical educator, students will be placed at the HCA Richmond hospital that is the right match for them.

Technology Brings Deployed Marine Into Delivery Room

February 21, 2008 In December of last year, Henrico Doctors' was able to use the miracles of technology to let a deployed Marine witness the miracle of his second daughter's birth.

Marine Sgt. Herbert Keaton III left for Iraq in August, when his wife, Jennifer, was pregnant with the couple's second child, NataLee. Having been in the delivery room when his first daughter, KayLee, was born, he knew the joys of being present at the birth of a child and was upset that he could not be there for NataLee's birth.

But Jennifer's obstetrician, Siobhan Dunnavant, MD, got an idea in her head and contacted GeGe Beall, FACHE, Henrico Doctors' vice president of organizational development. Dr. Dunnavant told Beall "we had an opportunity to do something fantastic by broadcasting the birth to the husband serving in Iraq."

Working with the hospital's IT coordinator, HCA IT, and the government, they were able to establish a password-protected Web site that Herbert could access in Iraq and watch a simultaneous Webcast of NataLee's birth. At the same time, Herbert and Jennifer were able to speak with each other by phone.

"We were really amazed that it was able to happen," said Jennifer. "I thought it was great, because I was able to look into the camera and wave at him. He could see everything in the operating room."

Beall described the entire experience as being overwhelming and added, "We serve the community every day, but it was so nice to make a connection between our hospital and this soldier from our community who is serving so far away. This is why I'm in healthcare."

New Onsite Child Care Center Opens At Parham Campus

January 15, 2008 Henrico Doctors' Hospital has partnered with Children's Choice Learning Centers, the nation's leading provider of quality, education-based child care, to open a state-of-the-art child care center on the hospital's Parham campus.

Children's Choice provides its literacy-based curriculum in child-care centers across the country. In particular, the corporation is committed to accommodating the child-care needs of workers in health care and other fields with non-traditional work schedules.

The Henrico Doctors' child-care center is housed in a new building located behind the hospital and can accommodate 135 children between the ages of six months and 12 years. Part of the building is dedicated to Children's Choice's Sniffles & Snuggles®, where mildly ill attendees can come while sick so their parents don't have to miss work.

In addition to Henrico Doctors' employees, HCA Richmond Health System employees can take advantage of the center's services; a limited number of spaces are also available to the public at large.

"We're proud to bring a nationally recognized child-care program to our employees and the community," said Dave Williams, CEO of Henrico Doctors' Hospital. He added, "This is part of our continuous efforts to provide family-friendly programs that enhance work–life balance."

New TCU Opens at Henrico Doctors' Forest Campus

January 11, 2008 The Critical Care division of Henrico Doctors' Hospital’s Forest Campus is opening a new transitional-care unit.

The TCU will provide aggressive clinical treatment and monitoring of patients with acute ailments, including coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathy, congestive heart failure, diabetes, and COPD, among others.

The new unit improves Henrico Doctors’ capabilities for continuous cardiac monitoring, vasoactivve pharmacological therapy, frequent lab work, synchronized cardioversion, defibrillation and more to adult and geriatric patients who require specialized nursing care.

To find out about opportunities for nurses at the new TCU, visit the HDH job search page and search for keyword "TCU".