Tuesday, April 15 – Hospital Meets Campaign’s Goal

BERLIN – Atlantic General Hospital celebrated the one-year anniversary of its 30 Minute ER Promise, a commitment to the community to place ER visitors in a treatment bed or initiate their care within 30 minutes of arrival, in grand style last month.

In recognition of the occasion and the tremendous success of the program, hospital administration treated all associates and medical staff to a four-course gourmet meal to thank them for their support.

“Fantastic teamwork is what made the 30 Minute ER Promise a success,” said Andi-West McCabe, director of emergency services at Atlantic General. “It took a hospital-wide effort to make this happen, and it’s truly wonderful considering the hours-long waits that are the norm in ERs across the country.”

When planning for this initiative in 2006, the ER Promise steering committee set a goal to meet the 30-minute-or-less commitment at least 90 percent of the time. As it turned out, the emergency department was able to meet that goal more than 94 percent of the time during the first year, from February 2007 through January 2008. Hospital officials called this a major accomplishment considering that Atlantic General Hospital’s emergency department saw a greater than 14-percent increase in its ER usage during that same period, the highest growth grate of any hospital in the state of Maryland. The state average was 2 to 3 percent.

“We are proud that we can offer this level of service to the community,” said Michael Franklin, president and CEO of Atlantic General Hospital. “I think the program demonstrates to our area residents and visitors that we are committed to their health and to offering the best medical services possible.”

To read all this week’s stories, see The Dispatch on Friday morning.