SGMC Lanier Campus employees are all smiles after receiving the Georgia Hospital Association’s March to Rapid Results Award and a $5,000 check for a rapid cycle improvement project. The award demonstrates the hospital’s ongoing commitment to quality and patient safety. The SGMC Lanier Campus, Lakeland, Georgia, received the Georgia Hospital Associations’ Hospital Engagement Network March to Rapid Results Award and a $5,000 check for its rapid cycle improvement project dealing with falls prevention and catheter-associated urinary tract infection prevention.According to South Georgia Medical Center CEO Randy Sauls, this award is one of many received by the SGMC Lanier Campus and it demonstrates the affiliated physicians and staff members’ commitment to quality and patient safety. “The residents of south-central Georgia can rest assured they will receive high quality care when using this hospital,” Sauls said. “Best practices and other standards of quality care are incorporated into the daily practices of the physicians and staff and it shows through these awards and recognitions.”Last February, GHA challenged hospitals across the state to do a rapid cycle improvement of patient falls with injuries and catheter associated UTI’s. As the winner of the March to Rapid Results, the SGMC Lanier Campus, a Campus of South Georgia Medical Center, Valdosta, GA, was one of 27 Critical Access hospitals to meet or exceed the criteria. The goal of the GHA HEN program is to reduce unnecessary readmissions to hospitals by 20 percent and avoidable harm by 40 percent. The funding comes from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and supports vigorous educational activities, quality improvement initiatives, and other resources to help Georgia hospitals provide stellar care.The SGMC Lanier Campus is a 25-bed critical access hospital that provides 24-hour emergency services, a medical inpatient unit, imaging facilities, and swing beds for patients requiring an extended inpatient stay. The hospital is Lanier County’s largest employer with an annual economic impact exceeding $12 million.
