HJNO May/Jun 2019

60 MAY / JUN 2019  I  Healthcare Journal of NEW ORLEANS   Hospital Rounds Developed under the guidance of a National Expert Panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses 28 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign grades to more than 2,600 U.S. hospitals twice per year.The Hospital Safety Grade’s methodology is peer-reviewed and fully transparent, and the results are free to the public. “This is another example of how, together, SMH and Ochsner are providing a quality patient expe- rience in east St.Tammany Parish,”saidJohnHer- man, CEO, Ochsner North Shore Region. “This high level of recognition could not happen with- out the continued focus of our physicians, nurses and staff on quality healthcare and patient safety.” TulaneMedical Center Named AmongWorld’s Best Hospitals by Newsweek Tulane Medical Center has been named a World’s Best Hospital by Newsweek in its 2019 list- ing of the top medical facilities across the globe. Of the 1,000 hospitals listed in the report, Tulane Medical Center is one of just 250 World’s Best Hospitals found in the United States, and the only hospital in southern Louisiana on the list. “Not only are we in the company facilities like Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic – two other American hospitals noted in the report – we join Singapore General Hospital, which leads global clinical research efforts, and the Charité hospital in Berlin, which employs more than half of Germa- ny’s Nobel Prize winners in physiology and med- icine,” said Dr. William Lunn, Tulane Health Sys- tem’s president and CEO. “Never has our mission to provide world-class patient care, education and research felt more lived and affirmed.” The Newsweek rankings are based on a combi- nation of publicly-reported quality and patient sat- isfaction data as well as reputation surveys sent to tens of thousands of physicians, nurses, and other medical professionals across 11 different coun- tries. Based on these composite rankings, News- week ranked Tulane Medical Center No. 178 out of more than 3,800 hospitals nationwide. “As with any such award, we don’t celebrate the win; we celebrate what it represents,” Lunn said. “We celebrate the quality care our team provides. We celebrate our research, our clinical trials and our education that is literally shaping the future OrleansTrauma/ICUStep Down Unit; staff nurse for Tulane Institute of Sports Medicine; clinical supervisor/interimdirector of the ICU andTelem- etry Units of the New Orleans East Hospital; and clinical educator for inpatient ICU and telemetry units, New Orleans East Hospital. Hirsch has served on multiple hospital com- mittees integral to her facility roles and respon- sibilities, on city- and state-wide emergency pre- paredness committees, and on the NewHospital Development Committee workingwith architects, administrators, and state lawmakers to complete plans for the University Medical Center in New Orleans, which opened in August of 2015. Slidell Memorial Hospital, Ochsner Medical Center – North Shore Awarded “A” Safety Grade Slidell Memorial Hospital and Ochsner Med- ical Center – North Shore were awarded an “A” from The Leapfrog Group’s Fall 2018 Hospital Safety Grade, announced SMH and Ochsner – North Shore Chief Executive Officer KerryTirman. This designation recognizes efforts in protect- ing patients from harm and meeting the highest safety standards in the United States.  The Leapfrog Group is a national organization committed to improving healthcare quality and safety for consumers and purchasers.The Safety Grade assigns anA,B,C,D,or Fgrade to hospitals across the country based on their performance in preventing medical errors, infections, and other harms among patients in their care. “Leapfrog’s Hospital Safety Grades recognize hospitals that focus on advancing patient safety. This ranking provides an important resource for patients, and a benchmark for hospitals, to deter- mine how care at one hospital compares to oth- ers in a region,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group.“Hospitals that earn an A Hospital Safety Grade deserve to be recog- nized for their efforts in preventingmedical harm and errors.” “Achieving an ‘A’ score from Leapfrog is an honor. Doing so consistently requires dedica- tion and a commitment to excellence,” said Tir- man. “We are very proud of our team for being among an elite group of healthcare providers in the nation.” Vicki Hirsch, RN, BSN, is Director of Nurses for Lallie A. Kemp Regional Medical Center Lallie A. Kemp Regional Medical Center announced that Vicki Hirsch, RN, BSN, has joined the hospital management leadership as the direc- tor of nurses. Hirsch earned an RN from Charity Hospital School of Nursing in 1990 and completed a Bach- elor of Science in Nursing from the University of Phoenix in 2000. Themajority of her nursing career was spent at Charity Hospital from 1989 until Hurricane Kat- rina in 2005. Beginning as a ward nurse, she was promoted to head nurse on the surgical/trauma wards, and subsequently the RNmanager of Sur- gical Intensive Care Area (SICA). Hirsch has served as a Commissioned Officer U.S. Army Nurse Corps since 2001, attaining the ranks of Captain andMajor.Mobilized three times in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Oper- ation Enduring Freedom, she served at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Tex., the Army’s only Level 1 trauma center on two sepa- ratemobilizations both in the ICU and step down units. Additionally she trained overseas at Lan- stuhl,Germany U.S.Army Hospital,the first stand- ing hospital for all battlefield trauma coming out of theatre where patients are flown to be stabilized and treated until they are stable enough for trans- port back to the states. She received three Army Commendation Medals for her service. Following one of her Army mobilizations post-Katrina, she returned to New Orleans and was instrumental in re-establishing nursing ser- vices for the former Charity Hospital--subse- quently known as InterimLSUHospital.Her recall tasks included call back of pre-Katrina nursing staff, hiring contract nursing staff, and establish- ing state contracts with local and national nurs- ing agencies. She also led the re-establishment of the nurse staffing office,house supervisors,RN liaisons, volunteer services, and patient escort. In 2009,she received the HealthCare HeroesAward fromCityBusiness Magazine. With an extensive work history of clinical,super- visory,middle,and upper level management roles, Hirsch’s other clinical nursing experience includes serving as RN manager of Charity Hospital New