16  August, 2005: Dayton Hospital and Clinics have Successful Surveys

 The staff at Dayton General Hospital had been preparing for months for the bi-annual State Survey that all small hospitals are required to go through, this was a known.  The unknown was the call they received the day before the hospital survey started, informing them that both the Columbia Family Clinic and Waitsburg Clinic would be inspected the same week also.  After the dust settled and the surveys were completed, it was found that all three passed with flying colors!

The hospital survey looks at many areas but primarily focuses on quality of care provided, nursing services, policies and procedures and the environment of care (safety of the facility).  Guidelines surveyors use are established through regulations from Federal, State and Local jurisdictions.  At the end of the survey, Dayton General was found to have 3 very minor deficiencies.  “All three of our deficiencies were easy fixes, especially since two of them dealt with poor documentation on our part” said CEO Bruce Grimshaw.  “We are putting remedies in place for the three deficiencies identified to ensure we have documentation from this point on.”  “What was especially nice is that two years ago we were hit with 11 deficiencies, many of the major ones, which took a lot of time and effort to correct the problems.”  “This time the staff prepared well and was ready, even before the state notification that they were coming.”  “The surveyors commented on many occasions throughout their time here how well we were doing in relation to other facilities in the state.”

In the clinic surveys, both passed without a hitch with the Waitsburg Clinic receiving a “No Deficiency” survey, while the Columbia Family Clinic receiving one minor deficiency on policies.  “The staff at both clinics are outstanding professionals and received praise from the surveyor on the superior records that were maintained as well as the documentation of care”, Grimshaw said.

“The District had to focus on financial issues last year due to our fiscal problems”,  Grimshaw said.  “This year we have worked really hard on the quality of care provided in the Hospital, Clinics, as well as Booker Rest Home (which received a perfect survey earlier this year) and Adult Family Home.”  “All or our sites have been inspected in the past three months and we have had extremely successful surveys.”  “This is a direct reflection of our staff’s focus on the quality of care and customer service that we provide each and every patient being cared for at our facilities.”  “We have now set the bar high and we will strive to get better!”