CEO cites improvements, partnerships at Orleans Community Health

Editor:

As a resident of Orleans County and the new CEO of Orleans Community Health, I want to share some exciting news about OUR hospital and what it means for our patients and community.

We recently received designation from Buffalo Business First as a Top Ranked Emergency Department for 2014! We are very proud of this accomplishment and will continue our efforts to provide high quality emergency services to residents throughout Orleans County.

Our Patient Experience Committee is working hard to improve care and service from the time patients enter our hospital to the time they leave. As a result, we have seen improvements in our patient satisfaction scores and always welcome your feedback to make us even better.

Improvements in our billing practices are another example of these efforts. After some technical issues with our billing processes, we have contracted with a new billing company and are very pleased with their business practices and their strong focus on customer service.

We are very thankful for the collaborative relationships we have had with our longstanding community physicians. In an effort to provide needed services close to home, we are continuing to recruit physicians to our hospital so patients and their families don’t have to travel outside the area to receive needed care.

To help ensure the continuation of critical medical services in our community, we recently received “Critical Access Hospital” designation from New York State. This is an important distinction for our hospital and the patients we serve. It will result in improved reimbursement to help strengthen Orleans Community Health.

To further strengthen healthcare services in Orleans County and improve access to specialty services for our patients and community, we continue to build on our affiliation with Catholic Health. Through this relationship, we have added two cardiologists to our staff offering convenient appointments, 24/7 cardiology coverage and a host of new procedures to diagnose and treat heart disease. We will continue to work with Catholic Health to provide greater access to services close to home.

We are also focusing on opportunities to improve the health in our community. We are offering the National Diabetes Prevention Program that covers classes on healthy eating and physical activity, as well as Diabetes Education Classes.

Food Link trucks are at our hospital every Wednesday from 10 to 10:30 a.m., offering an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables. We offered free blood pressure and cholesterol screenings at the Orleans 4-H Fair this summer and hope to see many of you at our upcoming Teddy Bear Clinic, fall programs, and Breakfast with Santa in December.

I am thankful to be a resident of Orleans County and excited about the future of Orleans Community Health. As always, thank you for choosing Medina Memorial Hospital, the Sleep and Wellness Center, Medina and Batavia Dialysis, Medina Homecare, Lake Plains Therapy and Albion Primary/Urgent Care and Therapy for your healthcare needs. We know how important quality healthcare is to our community and are grateful that you allow us to care for you.

Sincerely,

Wendy Jacobson
Chief Executive Officer
Orleans Community Health