The University of Toledo Medical Center caregivers and staff are celebrating today following an outstanding three-day, unannounced, random Patient Safety Institutional Survey completed Wednesday by the Ohio Department of Health on behalf of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

A formal report detailing UTMC’s performance is expected in the next month or two.

Surveyors evaluated UTMC’s infection control efforts, its discharge planning and its quality assessment performance improvement — a total encompassing more than 40 health-care categories and some 335 elements — based on interviews, observations, and document and policy reviews.

“We are very proud of our efforts to ensure patient safety, but the feedback we received from the survey team are a welcome third-party validation of the effort of thousands of employees on our health-care team,” said Dr. Jeffrey Gold, chancellor and executive vice president for biosciences and health affairs, and dean of the College of Medicine and Life Sciences.

“Out of every item they reviewed, the survey team found only two minor elements that needed to be addressed, and we have already changed our policies and processes to do just that,” he said.

Gold pointed out that in the Quality Assessment Performance Improvement area, possibly the most important and surely the most complex of piece of the survey, there were no elements identified to be addressed.

“We are so very proud of our health-care system, and particularly proud of all of our caregivers. The Ohio Department of Health team was complementary of our systems, policies, procedures, and particularly the warm, caring team of physicians and nurses, pharmacists and therapists, social workers and dietitians, and hosts of others who every day care for our patients and support their families,” Gold wrote in a letter distributed to UTMC employees Wednesday evening.

“Every day, we, together, define university quality care, the higher degree of healing. This is defined with every patient interaction, every outpatient visit, every procedure, every medication we dispense, every patient room we sanitize, everything every day.

“On very special days, we have the opportunity to show the outside world how we define this quality of care and set the standards for our regional community and the national community of health-care delivery systems. Remarkable quality, safety and patient experience are all of what we expect for ourselves and our families when care is needed and is how we define true excellence.

“A very special thank you to all of our health-care team and particularly those who went so far out of their way to warmly greet the survey team, demonstrate our approach to our patients, and exemplify our pride,” Gold wrote.

Tags: The University of Toledo Medical Center (UTMC)