What We Do To Assume Quality Care at LRMC

LRMC is very busy like other hospitals providing care to our patients and their families. We want to assure you that we have many processes in place to make sure you receive the quality care you need. So, what does "quality" mean? The information presented below will outline what we do to ensure that you receive quality care. We also want to make sure you are not only treated well clinically, but that your stay is pleasant for you and your family. The Quality Department, along with all other departments at Lea Regional Medical Center (LRMC), continually assess and evaluate the care provided according to the state and national standards and our own internal standards, and your help in letting us know how we can better meet your needs helps us with this process.

In addition, we have quality improvement teams that look at all areas of the hospital and all services. These teams work hard to identify ways to make sure that the hospital works better for all our patients.

Clinical questions need to be addressed to your nurse and/or physician. Complaints or concerns also need be addressed with your caregivers; if you are not satisfied with the response, please contact the director of that department or Administration at 575-492-5101. If you are not satisfied with the resolution of your concerns by our facility, the public may contact Joint Commission's Office of Quality Monitoring (to report any concern or register a complaint at 1-800-994-6610 or email at complaint@jcaho.org.

For more information about how LRMC assures quality care click on the links below or call
(575) 492-5286.

Quality improvement

Quality improvement starts well before you arrive for your hospital stay and long after you have been discharged to go home. Quality improvement is a continuous process involving many partners and most importantly you.

While you are in the hospital, the nurses and nursing directors check and recheck the care and treatment you are receiving. Any questions that you may have that your nurses cannot answer will be referred immediately to your physician. The nursing staff works closely with your physician and other staff who are trained to provide you with quality care; they all coordinate your care as needed. As a hospital patient, you will probably see many members of your healthcare team and all of these employees will be wearing name badges that identify who they are and their job title.

In addition, we have quality improvement teams that look at all areas of the hospital and all services. These teams work hard to identify ways to make sure that the hospital works better for all our patients.

After you are discharged

When you are ready to leave the hospital, the staff will assist you and your family with a plan for your discharge and arrange for any follow-up care as recommended by your physician. The Case Management Department may also assist you with hospice referrals, healthcare equipment, home health referrals, or any other type of care you may need once you leave the hospital.

After you leave, the Quality Department, Case Management Department, and others who have been monitoring your care while you are in the hospital continue to examine your chart for ways the hospital can improve its care. Committees of physicians also review patient charts to identify areas for quality improvement. At the same time, the hospital staff who prepare your bill look at the services you received to identify any problems that may occur with your health insurance coverage. They want to make sure the correct information is provided to your insurance company.

Telephone survey

Soon after you leave the hospital, you may be called as part of a telephone survey. We strongly encourage you to share your thoughts with the survey regarding your hospital stay. Your responses will be reviewed and considered in making changes to the hospital processes based on your feedback. We can't do that if you do not let us know what was good about your stay and what could be improved.

External organizations

Outside organizations also conduct reviews of our hospital to insure quality care is provided. They monitor the care you and other patients receive and the safety of our facility. Most of these external quality review organizations are voluntary and are requested directly by the hospital. You might consider them a "Good Housekeeping" seal of approval. Also, LRMC voluntarily submits many of their programs and services for external review. Clinical laboratories, pharmacies, mammography, blood banks, and radiology are just some of the units in our hospital that are looked at by specialty agencies, for example, the Drug Enforcement Agency, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, etc.

The result of all these internal and external efforts is healthcare quality you can count on. We are working constantly to exceed your quality expectations.

Your Healthcare Team

Many healthcare professionals also meet continuing education requirements to keep their licenses or certifications current; LRMC supports its staff by offering continuing education to its staff on a weekly basis. We also verify the credentials of all of the physicians who treat patients at our hospital. We check each physician's license, experience, competency,references, etc. Physicians are required to meet these standards in order to treat patients at Lea Regional.