At MCMC, our top priority is to create an atmosphere of trust and safety, while achieving our goals for quality and efficiency. Our MCMC team consists of hundreds of talented members of our community who work diligently and are dedicated to achieving our goals together.

In 2019, the MCMC Board of Trustees developed a Quality and Safety Committee. The Board appointed Paul Cardosi, MD as chair of the committee and Board of Trustee member Janet Hamada as one of its members. I, too, sit on that committee along with other Executive Leaders and the Director of Quality Resources.

As outlined in its charter, the Quality and Safety Committee’s purpose is to provide vision, direction, and strategic planning for the culture of safety and quality/performance improvement efforts at MCMC. The overall Board leads the way in defining cultural, quality and safety goals, objectives, and indicators for each year. The following are the four primary functions of this Committee:

1) Review performance measurement and assessment projects.

2) Monitor patient-focused and organizational functions.

3) Ensure required measurement activities are performed.

4) Direct actions to ensure improvements in performance and safety.

Patient satisfaction often reflects the more personal side of care, such as how willing doctors and nurses are to listen, answer questions and explain treatments; how much time the doctor spends with the patient; how comfortable patients find the hospital in terms of cleanliness; and their impressions of the quality of food served. Past patient satisfaction data is an excellent prediction what a current patient’s upcoming experience is likely to be.

At Mid-Columbia Medical Center, we strive to create an exceptional experience for patients and families. Our goal is to meet or exceed their expectations and to achieve industry-leading levels of patient satisfaction. To ensure the best possible experience, we regularly survey patients through letters, email, and text to learn about their experiences, and use this feedback for evaluating and improving our performance. The independent research company Press Ganey conducts our surveys, which are sent to patients who have been seen in the following areas: Inpatient, Outpatient, Medical Practice (clinics), Emergency Department, and Ambulatory Surgery.

The survey results, including written comments, are monitored by our Quality Resources team and shared with appropriate departments as well as the MCMC Board Quality and Safety Committee. This ensures that our patient experience improvement efforts are based on the results and feedback we receive. This information as well as other comprehensive data are ultimately reviewed by the entire Board of Trustees. They are legally and ultimately responsible for ensuring quality care is available and provided to patients.

We also encourage our team, patients, and community to review our quality data listed on The Joint Commission website. The Joint Commission quality and safety review results are compiled following a comprehensive, in-person survey, during which industry experts review all aspects of hospital operations. For more information on MCMC’s ratings on The Joint Commission website. Thank you for entrusting your care to MCMC.