San Andreas, CA…Small but mighty. That’s how we describe our dedicated team of caregivers who strive seven days a week, 365 days a year, to deliver expert medical attention, along with a healthy dose of compassion, to our patients at Mark Twain Medical Center. Making sure our patients not only receive immediate expert attention, but also know who is treating them and how that treatment works, is a core goal of our hospital and reflects Dignity Health’s values. And we aren’t content there. We’ve challenged ourselves to reach new levels of patient care for the residents of Calaveras County.

That’s why we were so gratified recently to learn that, in a standardized survey of hospital patients and guests, Mark Twain Medical Center earned high scores, putting us, on many measures, above state and national averages.

A key element in delivering high quality care is communications with patients, and we pride ourselves in making that a priority at Mark Twain Medical Center. We’re pleased that a well regarded and recent industry survey affirms this by finding that 80 percent of Mark Twain Medical Center’s patients said they always received good communication from their nurses. Good communication from doctors followed closely, at 76 percent. In the bigger picture, patients scored our hospital staff very highly on responsiveness to their needs and ensuring understanding of how to manage their health after leaving the hospital.

Mark Twain Medical Center was also awarded five stars, the highest rating possible in the survey, when patients were asked about the overall cleanliness of our hospital. That ranking placed our facility in the 95th percentile nationwide. Patients also awarded our hospital the highest possible score when asked about the effectiveness of pain management.

The Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey, or HCAHPS, is a standardized set of questions that hospitals ask their patients and guests. The results are an important report card that allows hospitals to compare their service levels with other hospitals nationwide. Survey results provide a baseline for us to assess our care and evaluate ways to achieve even better service for the community.

For us, the scores reflect our cohesive team and a shared commitment, reflected by Dignity Health’s standards, to providing high quality health care to our community. Everybody talks about the importance of a team approach to ensuring quality services. But we take that approach a step further, by stressing the lifesaving role that all of our staff members play. That includes not just the medical expertise of doctors and nurses, but the work performed by our dietary experts and housekeeping staff. As hospital leaders, we value the contributions of all employees and are grateful for the extraordinary ways they are making a difference each day.

In addition to our exceptional staff, Mark Twain Medical Center has built a process, uncommon in many hospitals, that involves our top leadership team making patient rounds seven days a week. Hospital leaders, including the director of radiology, director of laboratory services, director of pharmacy services, chief executive officer, and medical staff supervisors, are on call round-the-clock to perform patient rounds. We also hold daily team meetings to foster communications and collaboration and ensure we’re meeting patient needs.

We are pleased with the most recent survey results and want to commend everyone—from the staff in the cafeteria ensuring our patients have delicious food to the physicians and nurses who look after patients’ wellness at Mark Twain Medical Center. Our patients know there are many sets of eyes and ears watching out for their welfare, recovery and wellness. The recent survey results reflect that, and underscore our commitment to continue to grow our patient services to an even greater standard of excellence in the years ahead.

Dr. Lonnie Smith is Chief Medical Officer at Mark Twain Medical Center
Katherine McCoy is Chief Nurse Executive at Mark Twain Medical Center

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