Our Journey to Excellence
Over the years Rockcastle Regional Hospital has earned the reputation as a progressive, patient-centered, physician-friendly hospital. But since it began partnering with Studer Group in 2012, its journey to excellence has been fueled by evidence-based management tools and best practices.
As a result, performance and satisfaction measures are soaring, and the organization is accomplishing more than ever.
“Our physicians and employees are the reason for our success,” said Stephen A. Estes, president and CEO. “But by strategically joining hands with the right partners such as the University of Kentucky and, more recently, Studer Group, we’ve taken our organization to the next level.”
Having Studer on board has quickly produced positive results.
“By sharing best practices, we have seen a genuine improvement in both employee and patient satisfaction,” said Cynthia D. Burton, RN, chief nursing officer. “Our culture and atmosphere is much more cordial and collegial within the hospital. There is organization-wide ownership for making this a best place for our patients to receive care and our physicians to practice.”
Monthly rounding has been one of the most valuable tools as it systematically uncovers needs and concerns of patients, employees, and internal customers.
“Through patient rounding, we’ve seen improvements in our satisfaction numbers, meaning more patient-centered care,” continued Burton. “It doesn’t happen overnight, though. Nurses are ‘show me’ type people. They have to see the outcome to acknowledge that, ‘Yes, this does work.’”
The organization has gotten buy-in from physicians and employees alike, and that has produced a greater sense of common purpose. When Rockcastle Regional began its journey with Studer and started its use of the Leader Evaluation Manager, only 35% of leaders shared common organizational goals. Now, 66% share a common goal. Additionally, in the most recent fiscal year, Rockcastle Regional was successful in achieving eight of ten organizational goals.
One of the most important initiatives implemented during Rockcastle Regional’s journey with Studer Group has been creating a culture shift focused on patient safety. The Kentucky Hospital Association recognized Rockcastle Regional for these efforts with its prestigious Quality Award in 2015.
“Creating an obsession with safety requires it to be the center of all that we do,” said Estes. “It must be at the heart of every decision we make and how we care for each patient.”
That commitment to the safety of every patient was illustrated by the implementation of the daily safety huddle. In 2013, Estes implemented the practice of having safety meetings seven days a week to give managers the chance to bring up safety concerns. A loose hand rail, a near-miss for a patient fall, or an early catch of a patient skin issue that might have – anything that involves safety is discussed.
When all departments have reported, smaller teams gather to resolve issues brought up in the huddle.
“These huddles allow us to begin every day discussing what is most important: patient safety,” Estes said.
Departments across the organization have benefited from this practice.
“Safety huddles have impacted our clinics by allowing us to better communicate with each department,” said Wendy Sowder, LPN, of Rockcastle Regional’s Rural Health Clinics. “We know each morning how other departments will impact our patient care, and they know what they can expect from our providers.”
Performance measures illustrate tangible improvements made since the daily safety huddle was implemented. They include:
- Spring 2014: 79.72%
- Fall 2014: 86.83%
- Summer 2015: 92.32%
- A 50% increase in “near-miss” reporting. Everything from wrong medications stocked in Med-Dispense carts to alarms not being audible.
- A 20% improvement on the March 2014 Press Ganey patient satisfaction survey answering “always” to the question “Degree of safety/security felt in the hospital,” resulting in a score of 90%
- An 18% reduction in patient falls from 2013 to 2014
- Improved results on the Employee satisfaction survey question of “Safety is a top priority at our organization”
- A sharp decline in the respiratory care center’s reduced pressure ulcer rates to below 4%.
About Us
Rockcastle Regional Hospital and Respiratory Care Center is a not-for-profit community healthcare system that operates an emergency department, outpatient services, a 26-bed acute care hospital, a 93-bed long-term care program for residents dependent upon mechanical ventilation and three rural health clinics. It was established in 1956 and is accredited by the Joint Commission.
On Dec. 30, 2014, Rockcastle Regional Hospital treated its two millionth patient. That may not be surprising, considering the hospital opened almost 60 years ago. What is more impressive is the speed at which the hospital has grown in the last decade. While it took 48 years to reach the one million patient mark, the next million occurred in just 10 years, beginning in 2004. What separates Rockcastle Regional is a consistently proactive management approach that has led to more physician growth, higher utilization, and ultimately, better patient outcomes.
“We feel like we’ve been ahead of the curve in terms of our growth,” said Stephen A. Estes, president and CEO. “While many other rural hospitals have been in a defensive mode, especially recently, we’ve been able to seize opportunities and partnerships that have led to our expansion.”
A major part of the hospital’s growth strategy in the last decade is our partnership with the University of Kentucky and UK Healthcare. A 2004, a UK agreement brought the Southern KY Area Health Education Center on board, and since then multiple synergies have been created, perhaps the best-known being the affiliation with UK HealthCare’s Markey Cancer Center. Rockcastle was among the first rural facilities to make chemotherapy and oncology services accessible to its community. Other UK partnerships bring an additional 19 specialty and sub-specialty care to Rockcastle Regional.
A little more than a year after the grand opening of the 32,000-square-foot Rockcastle Family Wellness, Rockcastle Regional Hospital and Respiratory Care Center recently broke ground on a 64,000 square-foot addition that will include 28 beds for patients on mechanical ventilators and a kidney dialysis clinic.
The facility provides state-of-the-art care for patients who, because of illness or injury, are dependent on mechanical ventilators to breathe. It opened in 1983 and has experienced several major expansions over the years. The national award-winning facility, which accepts patients from throughout Kentucky and many other states, has earned a reputation for excellence. One of the reasons for the reputation for quality is the work that goes into weaning patients from the ventilator Thirty-eight percent of Rockcastle’s patients will wean completely and be discharged, while others may be weaned for shorter periods of time.
The addition, scheduled for completion in early 2017, will make the Respiratory Care Center the largest freestanding facility of its kind in the nation, bringing its total number of beds to 121.
Awards & Distinctions
Rockcastle Regional and Studer Group share a passion for creating an atmosphere that fosters quality of care as well as physician freedom to practice medicine. Because of this, we have been able to achieve great things, such as:
- Worksite Wellness Platinum Award, Worksite Wellness Council of Louisville, June 2015
- Top Hospital for Physician Communication (ranked 18th), Becker’s Healthcare, May 2015
- Five-Star Quality Rating for Nursing Home, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, May 2015
- Five-Star Quality Rating for Hospital, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, May 2015
- KHA Quality Award (for Patient Safety initiatives), Kentucky Hospital Association, April 2015
- (Previously won in 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 212)
- Women’s Choice Award for America’s Best Hospitals for Emergency Care, Women Certified, April 2015
- 2014 Finalist, Jackson Healthcare Charitable Services Award, February 2015
- 2013 Top Performer on Key Quality Measures, Joint Commission, January 2015
- Performance Leadership Award, iVantage Health Analytics, November 2014
- Women’s Choice Award for America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Patient Experience, Women’s Certified, August 2014
- 2014 Best Nursing Home, U.S. News and World Report, May 2014
- 2013 Program of Excellence, Jackson Healthcare Charitable Services Award, February 2014
- Excellence in Patient Care Award for Communication of Medications, Studer Group, October 2013
- Spain Award, International Association of Healthcare Security and Safety, October 2013
- Women’s Choice Award for America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Patient Experience, Women’s Certified, August 2013
- 2013 Best Nursing Home, U.S. News and World Report, May 2013