Throughout the year 2014, Coral Gables Hospital has proved its commitment to providing a high level of care to the community through its expanded services and many achievements. To start off the year, Coral Gables Hospital opened its Senior Care Emergency Room. The Senior Care ER is outfitted with technology and equipment to increase patient comfort and provide greater aid for those with visual or hearing impairments. Some of the highlights include: slip resistant wood flooring, landscape/artwork lighting, thicker mattresses and handrails.
In April, the hospital expanded its medical services and opened a Center for Weight Loss Surgery, led by Dr. Werner Andrade. All patients go through a psychological evaluation before and after surgery, are given a personal fitness plan that includes nutritional counseling and vitamin supplementation, and receive access to a program coordinator who guides patients through the entire process. The hospital offers three types of bariatric surgeries: "Roux-En-Y" Gastric Bypass, Lap-Band®, and Gastric Sleeve.
Also in April, Coral Gables Hospital was awarded the Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Silver-Plus Quality Achievement Award by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association for meeting specific quality achievement measures for the rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients at a set level for a designated period.
A few weeks later in May, Coral Gables Hospital received an “A” in The Leapfrog Group’s Spring 2014 Hospital Safety Score. The Hospital Safety Score is designed to give consumers information they can use to make the best healthcare decisions for themselves or a loved one. This month, Coral Gables also welcomed David O’Brien, MSN, MHA, RN, as the hospital’s new chief nursing officer. With over eight years of nursing experience, O’Brien is responsible for supervising and coordinating the daily operations of the hospital’s various nursing units and for maintaining high quality patient care.
In June, for the second consecutive year, Coral Gables Hospital received the “Partner Recognition Award” from Practice Greenhealth. The hospital received the award for making environmental improvements and having at least a 10 percent recycling rate for their total waste stream.
July of this year brought additional changes to the Coral Gables administrative team and the hospital welcomed Henry Capote as its new chief financial officer. Capote has served as interim CFO since April and was the hospital’s controller for three years. In his new role, Capote is responsible for overseeing the financial operations for the 245-bed acute care hospital. He is fluent in both Spanish and English and has 15 years of accounting experience.
As the year comes to an end, Coral Gables Hospital continues to earn prestigious recognitions from national organizations. The hospital recently received two honors, including being named a 2013 Top Performer on Key Quality Measures® by The Joint Commission and the Get With The Guidelines® (GWTG)–Heart Failure Gold-Plus Quality Achievement Award. For the second consecutive year, GWTG recognized Coral Gables for meeting specific quality achievement measures for the diagnosis and treatment of heart failure patients. The hospital’s recognition as a Top Performer for the fourth year in a row-an accomplishment made by only 147 hospitals in the U.S.- is featured in The Joint Commission’s fall 2014 report.
Also in November, Coral Gables Hospital served as a surgical training site for the 20th annual Fall Scientific Meeting of the Sexual Medicine Society of North America (SMSNA). Led by Dr. Paul E. Perito, a urologist on the medical staff at Coral Gables, distinguished surgeons from all over the world, including Brazil and Russia, took part in the four-day urological training. The conference featured observations of a series of procedures performed at the hospital, such as minimally invasive techniques for treating common urologic maladies, including benign prostatic hyperplasia, male incontinence and erectile dysfunction.
Through the awards, recognitions and improvements achieved in 2014, Coral Gables Hospital has further solidified itself as a leader in the South Florida medical industry.
