Palmetto Health System's Vision: To be remembered by each patient as providing the care and compassion we want for our families and ourselves.
Palmetto Health is South Carolina's largest, most comprehensive not-for-profit health care resource. The latest technology and treatment protocols go hand-in-hand with quality patient care. Palmetto Health is composed of three outstanding hospitals—Palmetto Health Richland and Baptist in Columbia, and Palmetto Health Baptist Easley in the upstate. Palmetto Health Baptist Easley is the two-time recipient of the Firestarter award (2004 and 2007). Palmetto Health, a 1,247-bed system, is a JCAHO-accredited institution, and has more than 9,000 employees and 1,200 physicians.
Since beginning its Studer journey in the fall of 2006, the two Columbia campuses have achieved increasingly high patient, employee and physician satisfaction scores. There is a direct correlation between successfully hardwired practices and improved patient satisfaction scores. While there is still work to be done, measurable progress has been made in a relatively short time.
Palmetto Health's Leadership Journey
For the Columbia campuses, the official kick-off date was October 23, 2006 at a meeting of all Palmetto Health leaders. We selected a Steering Committee and had our first two day Leadership Institute workshop on February 7-8, 2007. We distributed "Hardwiring Excellence" to all 900 leaders and began implementing the "Must Haves" starting with Thank You notes.
We continued the journey on our own with quarterly two-day workshops until October 2007 when we engaged Studer Group as our partner. Barbara Hotko became our executive coach and main contact with Studer Group. She met with senior management on November 5, 2007. Karen Fraser joined Barbara and earlier this year Karen retired and was replaced by Judy Kees.
About Palmetto Health
All three hospitals are highly respected, long-time members of the community. Each year, the three hospitals treat nearly a half million patients, welcome more than 6,800 babies into the world, treat more than 82,000 pediatric patients and 3,000 cancer patients, accommodate nearly 150,000 Emergency department visits, perform more than 50,000 mammograms, and make more than 32,000 home care visits.
Palmetto Health Richland in Columbia is a regional community teaching medical center that treats patients from every county in the state. Areas of excellence include cardiology, obstetrics (including high-risk pregnancy and genetic counseling), oncology, orthopaedics, neonatology, pediatrics, surgery and trauma. Palmetto Health Richland is home to Children's Hospital which offers more than 32 medical subspecialties devoted to children. A new, freestanding Children's Hospital opened in May 2008.
In January 2006, the $80 million, 200,000-square-foot Palmetto Health Heart Hospital opened on the Richland campus. This is the state's first comprehensive, freestanding heart facility, open to all physicians and patients. Columbia Heart Clinic and Carolina Cardiac Surgery Associates opened a medical office building adjacent to the new Heart Hospital.
Richland also is home to the Midlands' only Level I trauma center, and, 10 years ago, was the site of the Carolinas' first Gamma Knife Center. The latest Gamma Knife technology arrives on campus in fall 2008. The hospital's Total Joint Center offers a unique program for hip and knee replacements designed to meet all patient needs, from pre-operative information through surgery and follow-up rehabilitation. In 2007, Richland opened its Robotic Surgery Center, the newest advancement in minimally invasive surgery. Richland also is home to the 3T-MRI/Brain Imaging Center which opened in 2007, and the Simulation Center (2008), both partnerships with the University of South Carolina School of Medicine.
Palmetto Health Baptist in Columbia is one of the state's most respected healthcare providers, committed to the spiritual, physical and mental health needs of its patients. Areas of excellence include behavioral care, obstetrics, oncology, orthopaedics, and women's services. Home to The Birthplace, more than 3,700 babies were delivered at Baptist last year alone.
The hospital was the site of the state's first Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Imaging Center, which upgraded to a PET-CT last year. Palmetto Health Baptist, along with Richland, is a site of the Palmetto Health Cancer Center and Breast Center, the largest of its kind in the region. In 2004, Baptist became the first in the area to offer full-field digital mammography, a new technology used to detect breast cancer. Baptist's multi-phase $57 million expansion and renovation project for surgical services, perinatal and Level III NICU services will be completed in 2009. The new NICU with all-private rooms opened in 2008.
Patients who receive care at Palmetto Health hospitals and facilities also benefit from Palmetto Health's strong affiliation with the University of South Carolina, which includes research partnerships with the USC School of Medicine and 12 physician residency programs.
In addition to its wide variety of clinical services, Palmetto Health is unique in its level of commitment to community outreach. Over a seven-year period, $17 million in healthcare services is being provided to underserved populations.
In October 2008, Palmetto Health was named by Modern Healthcare as one of the Top 100 Best Places to Work in healthcare in the nation. We were the only hospital in South Carolina to receive this honor.
For more information about Palmetto Health, contact Public Relations at 803-434-6891 (5 Richland Medical Park, Columbia, SC 29203), or email us at info@palmettohealth.org.