Spring Valley Hospital Medical Center honored

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Spring Valley Hospital Medical Center has been named the recipient of the state of Nevada Governor's Trailblazer Award for Performance Excellence.

The award is based on the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, which supports quality awareness, and works to recognize and publicize achievements and prospering performance strategies.

The hospital, 5400 S. Rainbow Blvd., near Hacienda Avenue, was also recognized for their community support with regard to minimizing ambulance off-load times.

Ashley Brooks, registered nurse and manager of emergency services at the hospital, explained what is incorporated in off-load times.

"The patient is signed in, we take a report on the patient and put them in a bed or treatment chair," Brooks said. "So off-load time is from the time they arrive to the time we take them."

Brooks and marketing director Naomi Jones said the average ambulance off-load time in the valley is about 30 minutes. The average off-load time at Spring Valley is under 10 minutes.

"This is important because the paramedics need to get back to the community," Brooks said. "We don't want to tie them up, we want to off-load as quickly as possible."

Another strategy that the hospital prides itself on its provider parallel triage process. This process allows those who come into the emergency room on their own, not by ambulance, to be seen quickly, which is not always the case in many crowded emergency rooms.

"We all know you can be waiting hours in the ER," Brooks said. "But with the provider parallel triage, you're seen almost immediately, you won't be waiting in the lobby. If you have a minor issue, you're triaged right away and taken to an internal waiting room. And the nice thing about it is you always have access to your health care team. The doctors and nurses work together."

The hospital offers other programs that helped them to receive recognition for their community efforts as well.

The hospital also offers an annual community health fair where a variety of free screenings, as well as free sports physicals for students, are available.

Jones also noted that the hospital hosts free Super CPR Saturdays several times a year, as well as monthly educational luncheons for seniors who are members of the hospital's Senior Advantage program, which is open to those over the age of 50 and requires a one-time fee of $10 for a lifetime membership.

"A lot of what we do is about education. It's not about putting nominal fees on everything," Jones said. "Basically the award is for performance excellence and community support. And everyone here at the hospital is committed to quality and the community."

For more information on any of the hospital's programs or free classes, visit www.springvalleyhospital.net.