May 20, 2019 – Danville, Kentucky –Ephraim McDowell James B. Haggin Hospital (EMJBHH) has been recognized for the high quality of care given to its patients. On May 10, EMJBHH received the 2019 Kentucky Hospital Association (KHA) Quality Award. The KHA Quality Award is presented to honor hospital leadership and innovation in quality, safety and commitment in patient care. The Award was presented to EMJBHH for their efforts in caring for stroke patients.
In August of 2016 EMJBHH implemented a stroke program that entailed education for clinical and non-clinical associates, emergency medical services (EMS), and the community. The program is focused on stroke prevention and decreasing morbidity and mortality rates. Community education and involvement along with interdisciplinary collaboration has provided a substantial improvement in the quantity and quality of care provided to stroke patients.
Over the past 3 years EMJBHH has been devoted to the stroke program initiating process improvement, identifying needs within the hospital as well as in the community, and implementing annual education for the staff. In 2016 the annual number of stroke patients seen at EMJBHH was 55. With the continued education through community awareness that number had jumped the following year to 118 patients. In 2018 there were 125 patients who were seen through the Emergency Department at EMJBHH with stroke-like symptoms. Today that number continues to grow and the stroke program continues to develop to become a strong community program for rural Mercer County.
“Community outreach, staff education, and using best practices to treat stroke and develop processes to deliver efficient, efficacious, quality care can and has allowed EMJBHH to make a difference within the community we serve,” says Dr. Lynne Warner Lynn, DNP, RN, Administrator at Ephraim McDowell James B. Haggin Hospital, Chief Nursing Officer at Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center, and vice president of Clinical Effectiveness and Medical Staff Services at Ephraim McDowell Health.