Happy Doctor’s Day 2022

In celebration of this year’s Doctors’ Day, I would like to thank all of our physicians for their hard work and commitment to our vision and our patients. You have stood up to the pandemic and every other challenge to get the job done.  

GBMC is so fortunate to have such a dedicated and talented medical staff, and we see this every day in our clinical outcomes. 

We gave red carnations, the national symbol for Doctors' Day, to hospital physicians as a token of our appreciation. Anyone who would like to participate in the Doctors’ Day celebration can do so by honoring your GBMC physician with a donation to GBMC or a message of gratitude here. This is an opportunity for members of the community to acknowledge the tireless efforts of our doctors and their commitment to your health. 

Waiting To Hear…
Last week, during Lean Management System (LMS) rounds, I was joined by Jodie Bell, MSN, RNC-LRN, IBCLC, Assistant Director of Women’s & Children’s Services, and we discussed the visit of The Joint Commission (TJC), the nation’s largest independent healthcare evaluation organization, in a re-certification survey. In 2020, we became the first hospital in the state to earn the Joint Commission Advanced Certification in Perinatal Care, and it was time to be reassessed. 

Jodi assured me that our perinatal team remains focused on continually improving our processes to enhance patient care for mothers and their newborns and that the surveyor gave her every indication that we had a successful evaluation and should be recertified.  

It is important to point out that the perinatal care certification process is a rigorous onsite review that involves an analysis of compliance with national standards, clinical guidelines, and outcomes of care for newborns and their mothers. As part of the recertification process, we submitted data on core performance measures, which demonstrated continual decreases in maternal complications and early deliveries; decreased prematurity rates; a significantly decreased C-section rate; an improved rate of exclusive breast milk feeding; and zero bloodstream infections in newborns. Certification is voluntary and is a sign of excellence.  

We will be notified by the end of May about our status. I am quite confident that we will be recertified given the focus of our team and the excellence of our care.