Grace Cottage Hospital’s 2008 Hospital Report Card
Strategic Initiatives and Process for Public Participation

Strategic Planning
Grace Cottage Hospital’s current five (5) year strategic plan was developed in May 2007 with input from four (4) constituencies:

1. Randomly selected patients at Grace Cottage Hospital were surveyed by Press Ganey. As required, Grace Cottage Hospital contracts with this commercial surveying company to send patients of Grace Cottage Hospital a confidential survey of their experience at the hospital. Press Ganey collates the responses and sends the results to Grace Cottage. The same company surveys patients of all Vermont’s hospitals. An analysis of these 2007 Press Ganey patient surveys is available on the BISHCA website.
   
2. The general public was surveyed through a telephone survey. In the spring of 2007, twenty (20) volunteers were trained to conduct statistically valid phone surveys. Three hundred seventy-five (375) people completed a survey over the phone and the results were collated. Some of the health care needs identified were an expanded radiology department, more health education classes (which was also an identified need in the 2004 survey), and extended lab hours.
   
3. Staff members were surveyed through an annual employee survey in the early spring of 2007. Seventy-five (75) of one hundred sixty-one (161) hospital employees anonymously submitted completed surveys. In addition, the CEO met individually with all employees to solicit their feedback about Grace Cottage. The results were tabulated and Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) Teams were formed to address the issues identified. CQI teams worked on Grace Cottage Hospital’s patient registration, the patient medication process, and the emergency department documentation process.
   
4. The Board, Medical Staff & Management Team spent a full day at a Strategic Planning Retreat on May 19, 2007 with forty (40) people attending and giving input into a 5-year strategic plan with measurable goals. The strategic plan - illustrated in the graphic shown below - is built on five (5) pillars, with each pillar supporting two (2) goals.

Activities Open to Public Participation & Contact Information
Grace Cottage Hospital opened its doors in 1949 through the dedicated support of the surrounding community. Currently Vermont’s smallest hospital, with just 19 beds, Grace Cottage is literally a community hospital – volunteers provide a myriad of essential services, from grounds keeping to emergency room admissions, strategic planning to fundraising, plus many other activities.

The point person for volunteers at Grace Cottage is the Human Resource Specialist who can be reached at 365-3605 or hr@otishealthcarecenter.org

The following is a sampling of volunteer opportunities available at Grace Cottage Hospital:

• Clerical Support
• Courier Service
• Flea Market Parking Donation Collection
• Gardens & Grounds
• Grace Cottage Hospital Auxiliary & Fair Day
• Grace Cottage Foundation Board of Directors
• OHCC/Grace Cottage Hospital Board of Trustees
• Pastoral Care
• Receptionists
• Special Events

The Trustees view themselves as community representatives responsible for the effective management of the Otis Health Care Center and Grace Cottage Hospital, working to meet the healthcare needs of the people living in, working in and visiting the towns of southeastern Vermont.

The hospital’s strategic planning is the responsibility of the Board of Trustees. Trustees seek the input of others in the community as they come into daily contact with people within the hospital’s geographic service area, as well as through the more formal means mentioned above. Various public meetings are held annually in a further effort to solicit public input into the hospital’s strategic planning process. Announcements for these meetings are published in the local press, via flyers posted in prominent locations, and on this website.

Contact Information:
The Board of Trustees selects and appoints an Administrator/Chief Executive Officer, who can be reached at (802) 365-7357 or admin@otishealthcarecenter.org or PO Box 216, Townshend VT 05353.

2007 Health Care Initiatives Developed from the Strategic Plan
Grace Cottage Hospital’s 5-year strategic plan - illustrated in the graphic shown below - is built on five (5) pillars, with each pillar supporting two (2) goals.

1) Strategic Plan’s Service Pillar
Goal: Make available timely appointments in lab & radiology

Qualitative indicators: Requests from patients and providers for expanded hours

Quantitative indicators:

Grace Cottage Hospital’s Lab hours were expanded in October 2007 to meet early morning demand. The lab now opens at 7:00am instead of 8:00am to help patients who are fasting or who need to get to work. The figures below show the number of patients seen during this one (1) hour expanded time slot.

Grace Cottage Hospital’s Radiology Department expanded its hours in November 2007 to meet increased demand. The technicians are now available on Sundays and nights from 7:30pm to 7:30am. The figures shown below reflect the number of patients seen during the night and Sundays.

2) Strategic Plan’s Quality Pillar (see graphic above)
Goal: Improve the patient medication process

Qualitative indicators: Medical staff and nursing staff expressed frustration with using the current computer software in a busy work environment. A continuous quality improvement (CQI) team was formed to identify the bottlenecks in the medication process.

Quantitative indicators:
a) A specialized technology position was added at Grace Cottage in 2007 to help with this issue.
b) An updated medication process was put into practice on October 1, 2007 and no hard data is yet available. It is anticipated that a second CQI team will analyze the newly-instituted process in 2008.

3) Strategic Plan’s Growth Pillar (see graphic above)
Goal: Improve health care services for patients in the Radiology Department

Qualitative indicators: Requests were made by patients and providers for an expanded Radiology Department. In 2007 the entire department was upgraded to a digital system so that x-rays and body scans can be taken at all times of the day and night, the digital pictures then sent electronically to a radiologist at another facility to read, and then send a disgnostic report back to Grace Cottage Hospital. A previously-used CT scan was purchased at the end of the year. To cover the needs of the new modality, the number of radiologic technologists was increased from 2 in October, to 3 in November, and 4 in December 2007. Radiology hours were increased to meet the anticipated demand. Twenty-four (24) hour coverage was introduced with technologists on site from 7:30am to 7:30pm and on call from 7:30pm to 7:30am.

Quantitative indicators:

• 144 hospital out-patients were sent elsewhere for CT scans in 2007
• 35 hospital in-patients were transported elsewhere for CT scans in 2007
• A previously-used CT scan was purchased at the end of 2007
• The number of radiologic technologists on staff was increased from 2 in October, to 3 in November, and 4 in December 2007
• The number of CT scans performed at Grace Cottage during the training period at the end of 2007:

  October 2007	0	CT scans
  November 2007	14	CT scans
  December 2007	10	CT scans

4) Strategic Plan’s Growth Pillar (see graphic above)
Goal: Meet the needs of the local population

Grace Cottage has seen a large increase in requests for health education classes and activities. The hospital continues to offer the popular courses - Tobacco Cessation, Osteoporosis Prevention, Arthritis Self-Help, CPR and First Aid classes, and the annual special events - Poker Walk and Tour de Grace Bicycle Rally. Additionally, in 2007, relaxation yoga and Weight Watchers were added.
In 2007, Grace Cottage joined the Community Health Education Committee, made up of representatives from Grace Cottage, Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, the Brattleboro Retreat, Brattleboro Area Hospice, and Brattleboro’s Brooks Memorial Library. The committee meets monthly to brainstorm and plan a collaborative wellness program. Twice a year, a wellness calendar, “Wellness in Windham County” is published and 33,000 copies are distributed via area newspapers and various local venues, with detailed information about the numerous workshops and programs open to the public. Grace Cottage Hospital and Brattleboro Memorial Hospital are 18 miles apart, so it makes sense for these two hospitals to work collaboratively to avoid redundancy.

Qualitative indicators: Requests for more local health education classes were received from the public.

Quantitative indicators:

2007 Public Meeting
The 2007 public meeting to solicit feedback on the 2006 Hospital Report Card was held in the Community Dining Room at Grace Cottage Hospital on August 20, 2007. The meeting was announced in four (4) local newspapers – Brattleboro Reformer, Original Vermont Observer, Deerfield Valley News, Message of the Week. One (1) member of the public attended.

Members of the public can obtain copies of the following information by contacting
Grace Cottage Foundation,
PO Box 1, Townshend VT 05353
802-365-9109
info@gracecottage.org

1. Strategic Plan
2. One (1) & four (4) Year Capital Expenditure Plan
3. Depreciation Schedule
4. Annual Report

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