Our nursing team provides exceptional patient care every day/night/weekend and holiday. Our annual Nurse Week celebration this week included the recognition of that exceptional care with the presentation of awards to nine individuals and two teams. We are proud to employ 1,168 nurses who selflessly live the vision of providing a safe, high-quality healthcare experience to every patient.
Recently Blessing recognized our team of committed, compassionate volunteers at our annual National Volunteer Week event. Volunteers don't "have" to be here. They don't work for a paycheck. They work because they passionately believe in our Mission, Vision and Values and want to share their unique talents to support our work. Last fiscal year, 411 volunteers gave more than 46,670 hours of service to the health system. Nationwide, the value attached to each volunteer hour is $31.80. That means last year our volunteers delivered more than $1.5 million in value to our patients and our organization.
The Blessing Health Hannibal Retail Pharmacy team is working to help us meet our patient satisfaction goal. Since opening late last year, the pharmacy has filled more than 3,000 prescriptions. That is over 615 distinct patients they have served. Physicians and the patients are consistently delivering the same message - "Thank you for being here!" It is a tremendous asset to have the pharmacy inside the clinic and readily accessible for our caregivers and patients. The Blessing Health Hannibal Retail Pharmacy has also been able to assist in the delivery and pickup of hard-to-obtain specialty medication from the Blessing Specialty Pharmacy in Quincy utilizing courier services. The additional services and pickup location has been extremely well received. Congratulations to the Retail Pharmacy team and everyone at Blessing Health Hannibal for improving the health of our communities on the west side of the river.
The Blessing Environmental Services (EVS) team has been recognized for its role in moving us toward our Zero Harm patient safety goal. Infection Prevention said the EVS team plays a vital role in reducing the spread of healthcare acquired infections by following the guidelines for appropriate cleaning and disinfection. EVS director, Dave Wakely, added that his team takes seriously its responsibility to keep patients, family and employees in a clean, safe environment on a daily basis - not only for satisfaction scores, but for safety. Blessing is thankful for the EVS team for all they do 24/7/365 for helping to keep us safe through their unique skills and knowledge and moving us toward our Zero Harm goal.
A procedure scheduled in our cath lab today will be the first of its kind in the State of Illinois. A patient of our new Hypertension Clinic - a partnership between Nephrology and Cardiology - is scheduled to undergo Renal Denervation (RDN). Using ultrasound energy delivered through Recor Medical's Paradise Ultrasound RDN System, this minimally invasive procedure calms overactive nerves in the kidneys that can contribute to high blood pressure. Trials have shown RDN can bring a patient's uncontrolled high blood pressure down by 8 points within a couple of months and by as much as 20 points over time. Cardiologist Dr. Jeffrey Cook is scheduled to perform the historic RDN. Dr. Steven Krause also performs RDNs as part of the Hypertension Clinic.
Dr. Umama Adil and her team have been recognized nationally for their skill and outcomes in performing bronchoscopic lung volume reduction (BLVR) surgery. The minimally invasive procedure improves the health and quality of life of people who struggle to breathe because of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Blessing is now listed on a national website as a treatment center, the only one within an hour's drive of Quincy. BLVR is recognized as the "gold standard" of care for patients who qualify for the procedure. Congratulations to Dr. Adil and her team for their dedication in bringing this life-changing procedure to our patients and providing a safe, high-quality healthcare experience.
Our Cardiovascular Unit team has been recognized by Infection Prevention for achievement in reducing patient harm events. The CVU team went 443 days without a healthcare acquired infection. Part of the way they reached that exceptional milestone was by increasing CHG use by 8%. CHG cleans and reduces the amount of bacteria on the skin to help reduce infections. We are so proud of the CVU team for providing a safe, high-quality healthcare experience for our patients and their focus on our ZERO Harm goal.
The Blessed Beginnings team has been recognized by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois with a Blue Distinction Centers for Maternity Care designation as part of the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program. To earn this designation, each facility must deliver quality care, safely and effectively. Based on data from the current designation cycle, facilities designated under the Blue Distinction Centers for Maternity Care program demonstrate higher quality care compared to non-Blue Distinction Center facilities, with overall average rates of 26% lower episiotomies, 60% fewer elective deliveries and 17% lower cesarean births - all of which point to healthier outcomes for patients according to Blue Cross and Blue Shield.
People poured their hearts out at the 6th Annual Heart of our Community Gala on Saturday, February 10, to support our Heart & Vascular program. More than 500 generous people attended. In addition, 17 exceptional vendors/sponsors have committed $105,000 to the cause. The funds will be used to help improve the quality of lives of Blessing Heart & Vascular patients with unmet needs - needs that are blocking their road to recovery - and be available to invest in care technology and enhancing the knowledge and skills of members of the Blessing Heart & Vascular Center team.
Congratulations to the Blessing Lauretta M. Eno Early Learning Center team, celebrating 50 years of service to the organization this year. The Center opened February 19, 1974 - during a time when recruiting nurses was nearly as difficult as it is today. The idea was that on-site child care would attract and retain staff. It worked then and is still working today - helping us with our Best Place to Work/Employee Engagement/Recruitment/Retention goal. Thank you to each member of the Early Learning Center team for the peace of mind you bring to your fellow Blessing employees as they work; and the love, learning and joy you share with their children.
