Physicians, executives and staff participate in a ribbon-cutting and dedication event at AMITA Health Adventist Medical Center La Grange. Photo courtesy AMITA Health

October 2, 2020

Illinois Hospitals Receive National Recognition

As the COVID-19 crisis has unfolded, AMITA Health’s medical teams and support staff have exemplified its faith-based values in powerful ways. For months,...

As the COVID-19 crisis has unfolded, AMITA Health’s medical teams and support staff have exemplified its faith-based values in powerful ways. For months, associates have put themselves at risk on the front lines while working with public health officials to optimize the response to the crisis and to slow the spread of COVID-19. 

However, beyond the COVID-19 crisis, there are many examples of how the medical centers’ mission of extending the healing ministry of Jesus is shown.  

In May, Adventist Medical Center La Grange unveiled a state-of-the-art Outpatient Pavilion for its new Heart and Vascular Institute and Center for Advanced Joint Replacement. Specially trained staff and advanced technology will be housed in this bright, warm and soothing environment. 

The two-story, 30,000-square-foot Outpatient Pavilion “has been designed with the patient and visitor experience in mind,” said Adam Maycock, president, AMITA Health La Grange and Hinsdale. A blessing and ribbon-cutting event occurred Feb. 27, but its actual opening was delayed because of the COVID-19 crisis.

Adventist Medical Centers Bolingbrook and GlenOaks CEO Bruce C. Christian accepts the Top Hospital award from representatives from the Leapfrog Group at its national conference.
Adventist Medical Centers Bolingbrook and GlenOaks CEO Bruce C. Christian accepts the Top Hospital award from representatives from the Leapfrog Group at its national conference.

Physicians and associates drove the planning of the facility, focusing on optimizing patient comfort, convenience and care. The Outpatient Pavilion also will offer multiple benefits for staff, including increased workplace efficiencies, greater opportunities for collaboration, and access to technology such as 3-D cardiac ultrasound machines and the Mako™ Robotic-Arm Assisted Surgery System for partial and total joint replacements. 

“From a technical standpoint and an efficiency standpoint, patients will be cared for by people who do this all day, every day,” said Breanna Garrett, R.N., the Center’s clinical director. “Receiving care from the best of the best will enable patients to return faster to their everyday lives, with many returning home after an overnight hospital stay and some getting discharged the day of their surgery,” she said. 

In March, both AMITA Health Hinsdale and La Grange, achieved Magnet® recognition for nursing excellence from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). “Fewer than 10 percent of U.S. healthcare organizations receive the prestigious honor, which represents the pinnacle of nursing achievement,” said Mary Murphy, vice president and chief nursing officer at both hospitals. 

This was AMITA Health La Grange’s first four-year Magnet recognition, while AMITA Health Hinsdale earned Magnet re-designation after receiving its initial designation in 2015. The two hospitals applied for Magnet consideration as a single entity with two campuses. 

Hinsdale and La Grange CEO Mike Murrill and chief nursing officer Mary Murphy (black pantsuit) celebrate the news that the hospitals received Magnet status. 
Hinsdale and La Grange CEO Mike Murrill and chief nursing officer Mary Murphy (black pantsuit) celebrate the news that the hospitals received Magnet status. 

ANCC also recognized both medical centers as best-practice exemplars for exceptional performance in central line-associated blood stream infections rates and door-to-balloon time, a key measure of quality in emergency treatment of heart attack patients. 

Hinsdale and La Grange CEO Mike Murrill and Chief Nursing Officer Mary Murphy and staff listen to a phone call announcing the Magnet news. The award had to be announced by phone among a small group due to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hinsdale and La Grange CEO Mike Murrill and Chief Nursing Officer Mary Murphy and staff listen to a phone call announcing the Magnet news. The award had to be announced by phone among a small group due to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Highlighting its achievements in patient safety and quality, AMITA Health Adventist Medical Center Bolingbrook and AMITA Health Adventist Medical Center GlenOaks also were recently recognized as Top General Hospitals nationally by the Leapfrog Group. 

More than 2,000 hospitals were considered for the award, and only 118 hospitals were selected as Top Hospitals nationally, with eight of those hospitals in Illinois. 

Performance across many areas of hospital care were considered in establishing the qualifications for the award, including infection rates, practices for safer surgery, maternity care and the hospital’s capacity to prevent medication errors, according to the Leapfrog Group.   

AMITA Health Adventist Medical Center Bolingbrook and AMITA Health Adventist Medical Center Glen Oaks also received “A” Hospital Safety Grades, as did the Hinsdale and La Grange facilities. 

“This recognition validates the caliber of the care we provide to our patients each day,” said Mary Ann Palermo, vice president of Quality and Patient Safety, AMITA Health. “Our patients are the ultimate recipients of this great work, and we are very proud to extend the healing ministry of Jesus to them.”  

Julie Busch
associate vice president, AMITA Health