Growing into one of the top university-based teaching and research hospitals in the nation doesn’t happen overnight. In fact, Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey has been building on this vision for more than a decade. But by all accounts, and the numerous accolades it received in 2003 alone, HUMC’s effort has been a successful one.

Expanding vision
When it was founded as Bergen County’s first hospital in 1888, HUMC had 112 beds. Today it is affiliated with the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-New Jersey Medical School and is the largest provider of inpatient and outpatient services in the state. Growth seems to be the key word at HUMC. Since 1990, HUMC’s physical campus has grown to span nearly 3,000,000 square feet and inpatient admissions increased by nearly 18,600 in the past 10 years to hit 56,569 in 2003.

HUMC’s list of services also is expansive and includes a children’s hospital complete with a children’s cancer center, a dedicated cancer center for adults, and a Level II trauma center. HUMC is the largest employer in Bergen County, with more than 7,000 employees—a number that has nearly doubled in the past decade. Additionally, HUMC has a medical and dental staff of more than 1,400 and dedicated volunteers numbering more than 1,600.

Since 1986, HUMC has been guided by the vision of John Ferguson, president and CEO. He joined the organization in 1981, when it was still known as Hackensack Medical Center, as vice president for professional services and COO after serving as senior vice president at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Manhattan. In his message in the 2003 annual report, Ferguson said HUMC in 2003 “continued on its journey of seeking new and innovative ways to improve the quality of healthcare nationwide…The medical center is dedicated to the philosophy that by working together we can accomplish a safer, more economical healthcare system.”

Dedicated to core values
In its efforts to grow in size and scope, HUMC has not sacrificed service. Patient care is at the front of the organization’s “core” values, which also include outreach, research, and education. “Providing premier patient services is something we take very seriously,” Ferguson said in the annual report message.

To this end, HUMC is focused on the values and goals common to many healthcare organizations—providing safe and cost-effective care, and a full range of health services, in an integrated and efficient manner. It also looks to continuously improve its quality, cost effectiveness, and value. But unlike others in the industry, HUMC wants to be the best, a leader, not just in New Jersey, but on the national stage.

In hot pursuit
HUMC literally is in pursuit of perfection. It is one of just seven healthcare organizations in the country to receive a $1.9 million grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation last year as part of “Pursuing Perfection: Raising the Bar for Health Care Performance.”

This $20.9 million initiative is designed to improve the quality of healthcare in America by challenging grantees to set new, higher standards for the delivery of healthcare services and then to share their methods for achieving this goal with providers across the country.

HUMC will use its grant to develop improved care models for disease prevention and treatment in a number of areas, including: heart failure treatment, pneumonia treatment, anti-coagulation safety, geriatric care, heart attack treatment and follow-up care, stroke treatment and rehabilitation, preventive medicine, medication safety, dialysis management, diabetes management, and personalized aftercare instructions for cardiac surgery.

If you build it…
Quality of care is only one way HUMC works to ensure patient satisfaction. Building quality facilities is equally important to the medical center as evidenced by its current construction project.

The Sarkis Gabrellian Women’s and Children’s Pavilion, a $117 million project, will bring together The Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital, The Women’s Hospital, and the Mark Messier Skyway for Tomorrows Children. The design for the new structure, which is slated for completion in late 2005, is based on input from patients and their families. It is a state-of-the art “green” facility, being environmentally friendly in its construction and operation and energy efficient.

HUMC looks at the little things when considering patient comfort as well. It’s hospital gowns offer more privacy and comfort than others thanks to a partnership with fashion designer Nicole Miller; The Spa Within, which is part of Beyond, a full-service medical day spa open to the community that provides in-room aesthetic services at patients’ bedsides; and its “Greening the Cleaning” initiative resulted in the medical center replacing all of its cleaning products with non-toxic products made from organic, biodegradable ingredients.

More than satisfied
All efforts to remain patient-focused seem to be on the right track. In 2003, HUMC was recognized for clinical excellence and for providing outstanding patient experiences by the J.D. Power and Associates Distinguished Hospital Program. It also received the HealthGrades Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence.

For the first, patients rated HUMC in five areas: dignity and respect, speed and efficiency, comfort, information and communication, and emotional support. HUMC received its highest score in the “dignity and respect” area, exceeded the national benchmark score in speed and efficiency, and earned high marks for concern for comfort during procedures. “This is another testament to the high level of care provided by our outstanding team of healthcare providers,” Ferguson said when the results were released.

HealthGrades is the only consumer-oriented, national rating system strictly focused on clinical quality outcomes that rates every hospital in the country. To earn the HealthGrades award, six of HUMC’s specialty areas (cardiac surgery, cardiology, orthopedic surgery, neuroscience, pulmonary, and vascular surgery) were evaluated.

HUMC was ranked among the top 10% of hospitals nationally for overall cardiac services and in the top 5% for stroke care. “We’ve worked so hard to provide the communities we serve with quality care and service,” Ferguson said. “It’s wonderful to see the hard work pay off. This recognition supports what we’ve believed all along—that we are, indeed, among the best providers not only in the region, but across the nation.”