At Emerson Health, quality and patient safety are our top priorities. In fact, we are committed to being a high-reliability organization, which means we continuously work to improve patient outcomes and make the hospital and our satellite locations safe environments for you and your loved ones. We do this in two key ways:
- A dedicated Quality and Patient Safety Department works with hospital leaders, physicians and staff to continually improve quality and safety, including by preventing events such as healthcare-associated infections, patient falls, and medication errors. This department also monitors performance on important quality measures.
- Our Patient & Family Advisory Council provides valuable insight that informs our policies, planning, service delivery, quality improvement and facility design to ensure that our care is truly patient- and family-centered, and delivered in a setting that supports healing and positive outcomes.
Transparency about our quality and safety efforts
We share the results of our quality and safety efforts through open reporting of outcomes and quality measures. We participate in statewide reporting initiatives and data-sharing — and you can find information on our quality and safety performance on these websites:
Learn more about our Quality Awards, Recognition and Accreditations.
Antibiotic Stewardship
Worldwide efforts are underway to change how antibiotics are used in order to improve patient outcomes, reduce antibiotic resistance and provide evidence-based patient care. Emerson's Antibiotic Stewardship Committee formalizes support for the Antibiotic Stewardship Program from hospital administration, the board of directors and the medical staff to improve patient outcomes. The Antibiotic Stewardship Program’s coordinated approach will improve the appropriate use of antibiotics by promoting selection of the optimal antibiotic drug regimen — specifically, the right choice of antibiotic, along with the right route of administration, dose, time/frequency and duration.
To learn more about when it is appropriate to use antibiotics, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.
Your feedback is important to us
Patient feedback helps us understand what we are doing well and where we need to improve. That is why we ask you to tell us about your experience and level of satisfaction with our care through a survey called HCAHPS, or the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems, administered by an organization called Press Ganey.
Soon after discharge from Emerson (and most hospitals in the U.S.), patients are mailed this survey in order to provide feedback about their recent hospital stay. Here is recent data from the Press Ganey surveys on the percentage of patients surveyed who would recommend Emerson Hospital for their care:
Click on the image to open a full-sized version.
If you have concerns about the quality of the care you have received at Emerson Hospital, we urge you to share your feedback with us.
Accreditations and recognition
At Emerson Hospital, we are committed to your health and wellbeing. Emerson is proud to have the highest safety and quality scores. We've recently earned an A for patient safety from The Leapfrog Group and a five-star quality rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service — objective, third-party affirmation that we have met rigorous national standards for quality and safety.
The Joint Commission
Emerson Hospital is fully accredited by The Joint Commission (TJC) and has received its gold seal of approval. TJC conducts rigorous onsite inspections (called surveys) to ensure that hospitals nationwide are adhering to the strict standards of care mandated by state and federal governments.
Joint Commission accreditation and certification is recognized nationwide as a symbol of quality that reflects an organization’s commitment to meeting certain performance standards. The accreditation process — both the preparation and the actual inspection — helps hospitals improve their performance.
Surveys take place every three years and are unannounced. Emerson’s last survey took place in November 2022. Visit QualityCheck.org to view Emerson's Joint Commission quality report.
