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 Mission News
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Mission Named a Top 50 Hospital for Endocrinology
02/11/2008
Mission Hospitals in Asheville has been named one of the top 50 hospitals in the nation for endocrinology by U.S.News & World Report magazine in its annual issue on America’s best hospitals. The magazine will be on sale beginning Monday, July 16.
Mission had also been named in the Top 50 for orthopedics in 2006, and for heart in 2003.
Mission’s top 50 ranking is based on a number of factors, including hard data about how well patients did, a survey of board certified specialists, and the hospital consistently providing key steps in care that are important for people with diabetes and other endocrinology disorders.
“To have three Top 50 rankings in the past 4 years is very exciting for Mission and its medical staff. It is one more indication of the outstanding talent we have here in Asheville,” said Joseph F. Damore, president and CEO. “Diabetes is a significant health issue in our region, which is why Mission has pioneered ways for this chronic disease to be better managed. For our physicians and staff, the real reward comes in seeing people become healthier.”
Endocrinologist Jeffrey Russell, MD, who has been championing excellence in diabetes care since he came to Asheville in 1977, identified several factors that he said would account for the hospital’s ranking: Continuing emphasis on system-wide planning and coordination of care helps ensure consistency and safety. This includes a growing emphasis on across-the-board screening for abnormal blood sugar levels. For example, all surgical patients at Mission now have their blood sugar levels monitored before, during and after surgery. Physicians at Mission are now working toward having all patients at Mission screened for diabetes and having their blood sugar levels monitored closely throughout their hospital stay.
“By the time type II diabetes is usually diagnosed, it has been progressing for many years,” Dr. Russell said. “We are finding many unsuspected cases of diabetes through these screenings.”
In addition, Mission provides immediate and continuing education for people with diabetes, which enables them to effectively manage their illness and avoid complications and hospitalization.
In partnership with the City of Asheville, Mission developed The Asheville Project, a now-national diabetes management program that has won coverage in the New York Times and on NBC television. The Asheville Project links employees who have diabetes with a pharmacist in their community who serves as a one-on-one coach, monitoring their blood sugar levels, educating them about their medication, and providing regular encouragement and information to continue with a healthy lifestyle and manage their illness. The Asheville Project sharply reduces medical costs for both employers and their employees with diabetes. It lowers absenteeism, and most important, improves quality of life.
Another factor in the recognition may be the approach to care received by seriously ill hospitalized patients at Mission. In many cases, their care is managed by a new type of specialist called a hospitalist, physicians with expertise in intensive care management who are based in the hospital. Because at least one hospitalist is always at Mission, they are immediately available when needed, and it is easier to coordinate care and provide feedback to the patient’s primary care physician. In addition, a diabetes team using the nurse practitioner model is being developed.
In Asheville, there are two endocrinology physician practices, Mountain Diabetes and Endocrinology, and Asheville Diabetes and Endocrine Center.
In addition to the adult medical services that were recognized, Mission also has pediatric endocrinology services through Mission Children’s Hospital and its Reuter Children’s Outpatient Center in Vanderbilt Park.
For information about the Diabetes Education Program at Mission, call the Mission Health Education Center at 213-4700 and leave a message. The appropriate person will return your call. For an appointment, call 213-2222
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