As a health care organization, it’s a given that we focus on care. You might automatically think of physical care — how well we treat and minister to the body. What you might not realize is that at Adventist Health, our distinctive brand of care is more comprehensive than that.
In fact, like our three-pronged mission, “Sharing God’s love by providing physical, mental and spiritual healing,” we dedicate ourselves to caring for the whole person — body, mind and spirit. This means in practice that we care, deliberately, for patients, their families, community members and ourselves.
Throughout this special edition of the GLEANER, you will read stories from across our system — remarkable tales of healing, sacrifice, love and hope — all focused on the distinctive ways we provide care.
Our most obvious brand of care revolves around quality and safety. You’ll read about the many achievements our hospitals have earned, including Adventist Medical Center receiving the Community Value Index® (CVI) Five-Star Hospital Award for the fourth consecutive year. Additionally, you’ll learn about initiatives we have in place to further improve our care through technology.
In addition to quality and safety, we pride ourselves on the way we take care of each other. You’ll read about a nurse at Walla Walla General Hospital who went out of her way to help an elderly gentleman spend some cherished last moments with his wife of almost 60 years. You’ll also read about exceptional care given by doctors and nurses in blue at Tillamook County General Hospital.
As part of our sacred work approach, we must care for caregivers, because so often they busy themselves with their patients and forget to take time for themselves. You’ll read about a group of employees at Adventist Medical Center who banded together to show love and construction skills when a coworker and her home needed some TLC.
I hope you enjoy this spotlight on Adventist Health. If you wish to know more about us and our sacred work, please visit www.adventisthealth.org.
Sidebar
Facts about Adventist Health
• Headquartered in Roseville, California
• 17 hospitals in California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington
• Approximately 30 rural-health clinics
• 14 home-care agencies offering home health, hospice, personal care, medical equipment and infusion therapy services
• Four joint-venture retirement centers
• More than 18,300 employees
• More than 2,500 beds
• 118,940 admissions in 2009
• 446,818 emergency department visits in 2009
• 2,207,849 outpatient visits in 2009
• 211,544 home-care visits in 2009
• 89,854 hospice days in 2009
• 700,000 rural-health visits in 2009
• Provided nearly $3 million in free and low-cost services to our communities in 2009
Robert G. Carmen is Adventist Health president and CEO.
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