The annual HealthGrades® Hospital Quality Study for 2008 ranks Tucson Medical Center among the top 10 percent in the nation for stroke and general surgery. The study also found that TMC is: • Recipient of the HealthGrades Stroke Care Excellence Award™ • Recipient of the HealthGrades General Surgery Excellence Award™ • Ranked Best (#1) in Arizona for Overall Critical Care • Ranked among the top 10 in Arizona for Cardiac Surgery, Overall Orthopedic Services, GI Services, GI Surgery “This recognition from HealthGrades validates the success of our quality efforts,” said Dr. Palmer Evans, chief medical officer. “Our physicians and staff members throughout the hospital have worked hard to earn these results.” The HealthGrades study, the largest of its kind, analyzed patient outcomes at virtually all of the nation’s 5,000 hospitals.
Also, TMC received these awards in late 2006: • CareScience Select Practice National Quality Leader, 2006 – in categories of ischemic stroke, medically managed acute myocardial infarction and pneumonia. (TMC is one of only 12 facilities in the country recognized in three or more separate disease group categories.) • 100 Top Hospitals, Cardiovascular Benchmarks for Success, 2006 – recognizing hospitals that have set national clinical and management benchmarks for fullservice cardiovascular programs.
Peppi’s House opens for hospice care Peppi’s House, the new 16-bed home for TMC Hospice, began accepting inpatients during 2007, after several busy years of planning, fund-raising and construction. Located on the northwest side of the TMC campus, 2715 N. Wyatt Dr., the facility features private patient rooms, including two specifically designed for pediatric patients; family rooms with kitchenettes, couches and TVs; access from each patient room to a patio surrounded by a garden; and a meditation chapel. While the majority of hospice care is typically delivered at home, the inpatient unit is used for respite care when a patient’s caregiver needs a rest or when there is a need for pain management or symptom control that cannot be effectively accomplished at home. A community capital campaign, launched by the generous donor who wished only to be known as Peppi, raised $5 million to build the facility.
Air National Guard’s Minuteman group names TMC Employer of Year
Dr. James Balserak, a surgeon with a long history of service at TMC, has completed multiple missions in Iraq.
The 162nd Fighter Wing of the Arizona Air National Guard recognized Tucson Medical Center as Minuteman 2007 Employer of the Year, focusing on TMC’s “outstanding support during the past years, but especially in the Wing’s most recent Air Expeditionary Force deployment,” according to the Air National Guard’s summary.
Report t o
5301 E. Grant Road Tucson AZ 85712
After tracking key measures and quality indicators for many years, TMC HealthCare has taken steps to be accountable and transparent to the public. TMC now posts its quality data on its public Internet site (www.tmcaz.com) to communicate the continuous emphasis on quality improvement. Just click on the link marked “Quality Information and Patient Resources.”
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2007 TMC Successes & Awards
“TMC eagerly donated the necessary supplies, costing over $20,000, along with materials necessary to repair broken anesthesia machines,” the award summary states. “Their generosity enhanced the capabilities of the deployed medical troops and certainly saved lives.”
TMC joins national network of children’s hospitals As the National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions accepted Tucson Medical Center for associate membership, the hospital introduced a new name for its comprehensive children’s hospital and health care programs – TMC for Children. TMC is one of 215 members and supporters of the nonprofit association, and the only NACHRI member hospital in Southern Arizona. TMC for Children includes: • the region’s only dedicated Children’s Emergency Center • the only pediatric special care unit • the only hospice offering pediatric inpatient services • the only pediatric Gastrointestinal Laboratory • inpatient and ambulatory surgery programs • dedicated pediatric anesthesiologists • child-life specialists • and the hospital’s acclaimed Newborn Intensive Care and Pediatric Intensive Care units.
As a nonprofit community hospital, Tucson Medical Center is here to provide services that improve health and the well-being of the community. TMC is governed by a board of community volunteers who are stewards of this important resource and I would like to thank them for their commitment and dedication. 2007 was a challenging year for Tucson Medical Center. But despite obstacles, the commitment to our mission remained firm as you will see in the pages of this Report to the Community. TMC distributed more bike helmets, loaned more car seats, developed an innovative senior program and provided more charity care than any other previous year.
As Tucson Medical Center’s charitable arm, the TMC Foundation is able to touch the lives of people throughout Southern Arizona. Last year, the Foundation, dedicated to improving the health and quality of life in our community, awarded $5.3 million in grants.
In 2007, the Foundation made $5,199,691.52 in 48 internal grants supporting the hospital and $200,000 in eight external grants.
2007
In 2007 more than 6,000 people received charity care from Tucson Medical Center. These are uninsured or under-insured members of our community who came to TMC in their time of need. And for those moms, dads, sisters, brothers, grandmothers and grandfathers, it is our mission to be here to provide the care they need regardless of their ability to pay.
Giraffe Omnibeds in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit
Gifts go toward funding the latest in life-saving medical equipment, improving facilities, providing educational programs for TMC patients and staff, and promoting community well-being and safety.
C o m m u n i t y
Dear Community,
“TMC allowed a group of skilled and dedicated professionals the opportunity to support their country through military service and overseas deployments,” the announcement noted. The award also recognizes TMC employees who made sure that Medical Group members deployed in Baghdad got the orthopedic instrumentation they needed to treat traumatic injuries.
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2007 was a year for renewed focus on our hospital operations and the quality of care provided to the community. I am happy to report that operations are healthy, with the hospital reporting positive financial performance seven of the last eight months (August ‘07 – March ‘08, when this report went to press). This success was achieved while raising the bar in terms of the quality of care and service provided by our staff and physicians.
Homes from the Heart Brenda McGartland, a patient care tech on the Hospice inpatient unit, hammers at the frame of her new Habitat home. As part of the Homes from the Heart program between the TMC Foundation and Habitat for Humanity Tucson, each year at least one qualified TMC HealthCare employee will receive a new affordable home. McGartland and her son were the second TMC family to benefit from this relationship, with a third house currently under construction.
In these pages, we celebrate the many ways we provide unique and definable benefits to the community. Whether through charity care, child-safety programming, workforce development or supporting U.S. troops overseas, TMC knows that a healthy community requires investment beyond our hospital walls. This is our report to our community. This is our report to you. Sincerely,
Community Benefit Summary* Charity Care Unpaid Costs Community Benefit Services Breast Cancer Staff Activities Community Clinical Training Workforce Development Donations Total
Judy Rich Executive Vice President and Hospital Administrator
$3,618,239 $7,300,883 44,895 370,364 208,892 2,254,477 1,270,068 887,952 $5,036,648
$15,955,770 **
* 2006 figures as reported in 2007 tax filings. ** Does not include internal grants awarded by TMC Foundation.