News From Elmhurst Memorial: Awards and Honors

Culinary Team Wins National Competition

Serving up the winning meal, Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare’s Wildflower Café executive chef and lead cook won the gold medal in the Association for Healthcare Foodservice’s 2013 Culinary Competition.

The award was handed out earlier this summer and the team of Executive Chef, Jim Roth and Lead Cook, Yanka Manikatova, won the culinary competition with a meal consisting of the mandatory ingredient Potato Pearls in a goat cheese mashed potato cake atop a crab and corn maque choux, with New Orleans-style BBQ shrimp with Abita amber ale glaze and pineapple compote, according to Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare.

“Yanka and I kicked into gear and performed flawlessly together,” Roth said in a news release.  It was not unlike our food and nutrition team’s daily effort in feeding our patients, guests, and staff back home.  We were truly honored to represent EMHC at this prestigious event.”

Elmhurst Memorial Hospital is the only hospital in the Midwest that earned a spot at the national level.

Dishes had to fit within the stated nutritional guidelines; cost less than $7 to produce; be appropriate to serve in a facility on regular menu rotation, whether retail, catering or patient feeding; and, of course, and in addition, be delicious.

The Association for Healthcare Foodservice represents 630 healthcare facilities throughout the nation.

“The Gold Medal award is a tremendous accomplishment for the Elmhurst team as it reflects the caliber of foodservice program we deliver everyday at EMHC,” David Reeves, director of hospitality services at Elmhurst Memorial Hospital said in the release. “We are very proud of our entire culinary team and will continue to bring healthy and delicious food to our patients, guests, and staff at Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare.”

Recipes for all the culinary competition dishes can be found on the Basic American Foods website. The Wildflower Café is located on the first floor of the Elmhurst Memorial Hospital, 155 E. Brush Hill Road, Elmhurst.

Blue Cross Blue Shield Honors ELMCARE

The Elmhurst Physician Hospital Organization, known as ELMCARE, received 10 out of 12 blue stars in the Blue Star Report from Blue Cross Blue Shield. The report recognizes HMO contracting medical groups that have documented high levels of performance in providing patient care, according to EMHC.

Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Illinois compiles the Blue Star Report annually and it is based upon national clinical practice and preventive care guidelines, the news release said. Groups earn a blue star for meeting or exceeding the target care goal in each of the reporting categories, which include asthma, diabetes, breast cancer screening, childhood immunizations, mental health follow-up, controlling high blood pressure, colorectal cancer screening, management of cardiovascular conditions, cervical cancer screening, physician and member outreach, adult wellness and pediatric wellness.

The recognition is based on results of a survey conducted by Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Illinois that contains questions of a satisfaction-oriented nature. Groups that received a 75 percent or higher satisfactory rating received the Blue Ribbon for member satisfaction.

“These recognitions are a reflection of our dedication to providing the best medical care available for today’s healthcare consumer,” Lynn Suwanski, Physician Office Assistance Coordinator for ELMCARE said in the news release.  

The Elmhurst Physician Hospital Organization (ELMCARE), was established in 1995 to offer integrated healthcare services to the Western suburbs of Chicago.

Emergency Department, Affiliated Physician Groups Honored for Patient Satisfaction

Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare was recognized with two “Excellence Through Insight” awards from HealthStream, Inc., a national healthcare research company responsible for conducting patient satisfaction research for EMHC.

The Hospital’s Emergency Department received the “Overall Emergency Department Satisfaction” award for a hospital 250 beds or larger and was labeled “amazing,” according to a news release from EMHC.

EMHC’s affiliated physician groups, which include the Elmhurst Clinic, Elmhurst Medical Associates, Elmhurst Memorial Hematology and Oncology Associates and Elmhurst Primary Care Associates, received an award for their combined “Overall Clinic Patient Satisfaction” scores, according to the news release..

According to the news release, EMHC was awarded the honors for its commitment to excellence in patient care. To qualify for an award, hospitals must be a patient satisfaction-tracking client of HealthStream, score in the 75thpercentile or higher, and survey a minimum of 100 patients.

“We applaud Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare’s high-level of commitment to excellence in healthcare,” Robert A. Frist, Jr., CEO for HealthStream said in the news release. “We are pleased to recognize their achievement through our presentation of these two Excellence Through Insight awards.”

Technology Helps Outpatient Surgery Center Enhance Patient Engagement and Satisfaction

Elmhurst Outpatient Surgery Center is using innovative mobile and online technologies to create outstanding patient experiences, according to the organization. Rather than filling out forms, the surgery center is enabling patients to complete registration, medical and surgical histories online, while also receiving important procedure information and reminders via messages delivered to smartphones.

“Face it: Surgery, by its very nature, can be an overwhelming, intimidating experience,” Tina Mentz, Executive Director at Elmhurst Outpatient Surgery Center said in a news release. “We’re doing everything we can to make it as comfortable and easy as possible for patients. We don’t want patients to be bothered with completing a cumbersome registration processes on the day of surgery or taking phone calls when it may be inconvenient for them on the days leading up to their procedures.”  

Elmhurst Outpatient Surgery Center implemented CareWire, a mobile solution that communicates important information to patients in advance of their procedures in 2012. It allows the center to send messages to confirm the procedure date and arrival time, direct patients to complete their on-line medical history and provide other valuable reminders such as what to bring on the day of surgery restrictions on eating/drinking or special preparation instructions. About half of EOSC’s eligible patients are using this service.

Another tool, One Medical Passport , an online pre-admission service, was deployed in 2010. It allows patients to enter medical and surgical history online at any time. Patients create a “passport” that essentially becomes their own electronic health record, which can be updated and shared with other physicians or healthcare facilities. Patient involvement has resulted in more accurate and complete histories.

The focus of pre-admission nurses no longer centers on paperwork, the news release said. The new technologies allow nurses to spend time educating patients, clarifying questions and providing pre-surgical instructions. Nurses now spend more than 90-percent of their time speaking to patients instead of processing paperwork.

• Reduce repeat patient registration time by 64-percent (7 minutes)
• Decrease first time patient registration time by 31-percent (4 minutes)
• Achieve registration accuracy rates of 98-percent

Compiled from news releases submitted by Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare