Advocate Good Shepherd receives 2013 Doyle Award

LAKE BARRINGTON — Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital was recently recognized with the 2013 Richard L. Doyle Award by MCG, formerly Milliman Care Guidelines.

The award recognized the hospital for a significant decrease in preventable hospital readmissions through individualized care planning in the emergency department. Each year one provider and one payer are recognized with the Doyle award.

“We’ve always had a focus on improving our overall outcomes. With all the changes taking place in health care, we wanted to get ahead of the curve while staying true to our philosophy of patient-centered, wholistic care,” said Leah Montoya, director of clinical resource management at Good Shepherd Hospital. “In this day and age, innovation is the name of the game. However, at the end of the day, it is about our patients and what’s best for them. They are the true winners.”

Good Shepherd Hospital partnered nurse care managers, physicians, social workers, and other community resources with members of the ED and inpatient teams. The hospital’s interdisciplinary efforts-centered on a patient-first philosophy and evidence-based data-reduced its acute care readmission rate from 12.4 percent in Quarter 1 of 2011 to 7.5 percent in Quarter 1 of 2013, a 40 percent decline over two years.

“I am proud of our entire team who worked so diligently to coordinate care at this level so once a patient is sent home they can stay at home and heal where they are most comfortable,” said Thomas Leskovac, MD, medical director for care management at Good Shepherd Hospital.

Over two years, the hospital saved an estimated $2.3 million by reducing 30-day readmissions and another $2.6 million from reducing overutilization of the emergency department.