DAN'S PAPERS, August 27, 2010 Page 47 www.danshamptons.com
Patients Give Thumbs Up to Community Hosp.
compares to a 68% national average. As for an Overall Rating, the hospital scored 74%. Pit that against the 58% NYS average and a 66% in the country, and it’s not too shabby. Especially considering that many East Enders don’t have the fondest memories of the hospital. A transformation of this magnitude cannot happen over night, and not easily at that. This country bumpkin of a hospital has come a long way to put itself on the prestigious map. Its journey began in 1905 as a donated Victorian mansion (the “Little Red House” from the original mansion estate still serves as a nurses’ residence today). It has survived years of growing pains as a voluntary hospital, having to
raise funds for necessities such as a steam heating system and x-ray machine. It takes a small army of willing individuals, led by a general with gusto and vision. That man isMr. Paul J. Connor, III, CEO and President of ELIH, and thanks to him the hospital has gone through a complete metamorphosis. Connor joined ELIH in October 1999 and shook things up by initiating a program of renovating the hospital from the “inside out.” This encompassed all aspects of patient care, technology and administration. By 2000 the “new” Eastern Long Island Hospital was already winning awards. In 2009 the hospital ranked in the top 5% of hospitals nationally according to the Wall Street Journal, top 10% in the country and “best” on Long Island according to The New York Times, and #1 in Suffolk County by Consumer Reports. “Earning a five-star rating for Outstanding Patient Care is particularly meaningful,” Connor explained. “Being recognized for providing extraordinary care in the eyes of the patient is, in itself, a stamp of approval that speaks volumes.” Paula Daniel of East End Business Solutions concedes that the hospital’s reputation has (continued on page 50)
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By Maria Orlando Pietromonaco As part of President Obama’s upheaval of our failed national healthcare system, one of his provisions is Americans’ Access to Quality Healthcare. This requires making hospital quality measurements accessible to the public by January 2011. Because of this mandate, most U.S. hospitals are participating in a new federal program that asks a patient to survey their stay after they are discharged. If you’ve had the unfortunate opportunity to visit a hospital as a patient in the past few years, you’ll no doubt have encountered one of these questionnaires. Eastern Long Island Hospital (ELIH), once thought of as a “country mouse” of an institution, is taking part in this initiative and has proven to be the dark horse in the unofficial competition. According to HealthGrades, an independent healthcare ratings organization, ELIH is ranked in the top 15% in the country for “outstanding patient experience.” These surveys also put them at the Number 3 spot in New York City and Long Island. (ELIH held a media event last Friday that included hospital staff, HealthGrades representatives, and a core of satisfied patients.) What the survey indicated was this: When asked if they would recommend ELIH to a friend, 81% said they “definitely would.” This