Presbyterian Hospital Earns Franklin Award

OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill. — The Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital in Whittier, Calif., earned the 2012 Franklin Award of Distinction for exceptional hospital and health system case management.

Recognized for its commitment to patient-centered care and holistic management, the hospital’s care management program is designed to provide a team-based approach to case management for the integrated health system’s patients and the community.

The model includes common policies and procedures, electronic case management tools and a collaborative practice approach that involves nurses, social workers, physicians, patients, caregivers and the community.

The award, which is given annually as a partnership between the Joint Commission and the American Case Management Association (ACMA), was presented at the ACMA National Conference in Denver, Colo., on April 27.

At the hospital, clear outlines of roles and responsibilities across all disciplines ensure timely and effective coordination of care, according to a statement from the Joint Commission.

The program also relies on partnerships, including the funding of a registered nurse practitioner position at a homeless shelter that has helped reduce the unnecessary admissions of homeless patients to the hospital.

The organization’s post-hospital discharge clinic has also successfully reduced preventable readmissions, according to the statement.

“Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital’s team-based care model — which includes proactive daily rounds with the patient care team at the bedside — distinctively characterized their case management service,” said L. Greg Cunningham, CEO of the ACMA. “The hospital’s investment in social medicine with post-hospital discharge clinics and dedicated staff in the homeless shelter are evidence of the organization’s community commitment and the recognition of patients’ and case management’s needs.”

The award is named for Benjamin Franklin, founding father and co-founder of the first organized hospital in the U.S.

The hospital is undergoing construction of its new Plaza Tower as part of the second phase implementation of its master plan: a 250,000-square-foot, $100 million project with 112 beds.

The facility, designed by Los Angeles-based design firm RBB Architects, will include a lower-level inpatient surgery department next to the newly relocated imaging department and existing emergency department as part of its third phase of construction.

Phase three of the project also includes two floors of critical care, two floors of additional medical/surgical beds and a landscaped park.

The new facilities are designed with horizontally banded pre-cast concrete and glass, according to the architects.

The Plaza Tower is slated to open in August.