University Hospital (Augusta, Georgia)

University Hospital is a non-profit 581-bed community hospital located in downtown Augusta, Georgia. It was established in 1818, making it the second-oldest hospital in Georgia.

In addition to its main campus, University Health Care System has campuses in South Augusta and in the Augusta suburbs of Martinez and Evans.

University Hospital receives no local funding, and this acute care hospital serves a 25-county region in Georgia and South Carolina.

The medical staff of employed and independent primary care physicians and specialists who practice at University provide everything from routine preventive and diagnostic care to comprehensive heart and vascular and oncology services, and more.

Since 1999, University has been named the Consumer Choice Award.^[1] winner for overall quality and image. The Consumer Choice Award is based on an independent survey of consumers conducted by National Research Corporation to recognize the most preferred hospitals in metropolitan areas across the country. This places University in an elite group of hospitals nationwide.

Accreditations

Joint Commission

University Hospital is accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations,^[2] an independent, not-for-profit organization, established more than 50 years ago. Joint Commission is governed by a board that includes physicians, nurses and consumers and sets the standards by which health care quality is measured in America and around the world.

Magnet

In May 2010, The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) announced that University Hospital has retained its prestigious Magnet Status after a review and re-designation survey.^[3]

The ANCC's Magnet Recognition Program for excellence in nursing services is considered one of the highest honors that can be received for outstanding achievement in nursing.^[4]

University Hospital is the only Magnet Hospital in Augusta and one of only five in the state of Georgia and 372 world-wide.^[5]

Chest Pain

In 2009, University Hospital received full Cycle II Accreditation with Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) from the Accreditation Review Committee of the Society of Chest Pain Centers.^[6] Formerly known as angioplasty, PCI encompasses procedures performed in the cardiac catheterization lab to unblock a clogged artery leading to the heart.^[7]

The Chest Pain Center at University Hospital demonstrated its expertise and commitment to quality patient care by meeting or exceeding a wide set of stringent criteria and completing on-site evaluations by a review team from the Society of Chest Pain Centers.^[8]

Key areas in which a Chest Pain Center must demonstrate expertise include:

• Integrating the emergency department with the local emergency medical system
• Assessing, diagnosing, and treating patients quickly
• Effectively treating patients with low risk for acute coronary syndrome and no assignable cause for their symptoms
• Continually seeking to improve processes and procedures
• Ensuring Chest Pain Center personnel competency and training
• Maintaining organizational structure and commitment
• Having a functional design that promotes optimal patient care
• Supporting community outreach programs that educate the public to promptly seek medical care if they display symptoms of a possible heart attack

Breast Health Center

In 2009, University Hospital’s Breast Health Center was granted a three-year/full accreditation designation by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers(NAPBC),^[9] a program administered by the American College of Surgeons.

University has the only nationally accredited breast health center in the region and is only the second one in the state to be honored with this recognition.^[10]

Accreditation by the NAPBC is only given to those centers that have voluntarily committed to provide the highest level of quality breast care and that undergo a rigorous evaluation process and review of their performance. During the survey process, the center must demonstrate compliance with standards established by the NAPBC for treating women who are diagnosed with the full spectrum of breast disease.

History

Augusta's commitment to care for the "sick poor" resulted in the building of a poor house and hospital on the 100 block of Greene Street in 1818. The first City Hospital provided local physicians an opportunity for medical education and became the first home of the Medical College of Georgia in 1829. While City Hospital generally served white patients, a Freedman's Hospital was opened to care for the many African-Americans who migrated to Augusta following the American Civil War.

Augusta's City and Lamar hospitals (replacing Freedman's) operated under the auspices of local government, with medical and surgical control provided by medical college faculty. Nursing education was started at both hospitals in the 1890s, which would later evolve into the University Hospital School of Nursing.

City and Lamar hospitals were brought under one facility with the opening of a replacement hospital in 1915, which was named "University" in recognition of the ongoing clinical association with the medical college. Having Barrett, Lamar and later Milton Antony and Jennings wings, the first University Hospital served Augusta's citizens for 55 years.

Political upheaval caused the medical college to construct its own teaching facility, which opened as Talmadge Hospital in the 1950s. The Richmond County Hospital Authority moved to replace the aging University wings with a modern hospital, complete with coronary care and intensive care units, which opened in 1970.

Community benefit

In 2010, University Health Care System provided more than $18.5 million in indigent and charity care.^[11] These costs include the following:

• $10,464,711 for inpatient and outpatient services for indigent patients. This includes Project Access, which University helped develop in 2002 with the Richmond County Medical Society to care for Richmond and Columbia County indigent patients. University continues to be Augusta's largest hospital contributor of funds and services to this organization.
• $1,633,749 to help support community clinics such as the Lamar Medical Center, Belle Terrace Health and Wellness Center, Christ Community Clinic, St. Vincent DePaul and the new Harrisburg Family Healthcare Clinic. In 10 years, University has contributed more than $13 million to support these clinics.
• $6,406,696 for uncompensated physician services for indigent and charity patients.
• $216,034 for disease management programs coordinated and staffed by University to help people with chronic diseases better manage their conditions so they live longer, healthier lives.

Community outreach

University offers community education every year on the importance of prevention and early detection of disease. In 2009, they included:

• Heart Month Health Fairs. 845 people participated in free heart health screenings at two area Dillard's stores and the Columbia County Library, receiving free blood pressure readings, glucose testing, total lipid profiles and health education. 61 percent of the participants were found to be at risk of heart or vascular disease.
• "Eating Well with Kim." University continues this partnership with WRDW-TV News 12 to bring Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Educator Kim Beavers to viewers every Monday, Wednesday and Friday with healthy recipes and nutritional information.
• "Healthy U." University continued this Tuesday morning medical program with WAGT-TV, addressing seasonal health topics.
• HealthService Center. In its 18th year of operation, this call center, which includes ASK-A-NURSE, assisted 143,133 callers with health questions and locating physicians.
• Breast Health Center. The staff of the area's only nationally accredited Breast Health Center managed more than 10,000 patient contacts.
• Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) Tests. 978 men over 50 received free PSA blood tests at three area Lowe's stores. 89 men were referred to their physicians for follow-up care due to elevated results.
• Diabetes Expo. More than 400 people attended this 23rd annual event for diabetes testing, cooking demonstrations and information on diabetes management and other wellness topics.
• Mobile Mammography. Regular mammograms are critical to the early detection and treatment of breast cancer. Unfortunately, many women - in particular, working women trying to balance the dual demands of a family and a job - find it difficult to make time for an annual breast exam. That's where University's Mobile Mammography Unit fills a void, on the road almost every weekday to employers, community centers, hospitals, health departments and area Dillard's stores. The unit performed 4,675 mammograms in 2009, more than 1,000 of them free for uninsured or underinsured women. They also discovered 22 women who had cancer that otherwise might have gone undiagnosed.
• Skin Cancer Screenings. Dermatologists who practice at University donated their time to screen 112 people for skin cancer. 22 people needed a biopsy and 25 people were referred for follow-up care.
• Community Education. 1,581 people attended free community education classes throughout the CSRA on a variety of medical topics led mostly by physicians.
• Baby U. 159 new and expectant parents attended bimonthly programs to help them prepare for their upcoming delivery and care for their newborns.
• Support Groups. University staff members conducted a variety of free support groups in University facilities.

External links

• University Health System — official website
• Heart & Vascular Institute
• Outpatient Center
• Columbia County Campus
• Evans Campus
• South Richmond County Campus
• Brandon Wilde
• Kentwood Extended Care
• Westwood Extended Care
• Surgery Center of Columbia County
• Evans Imaging Center
• Health Central

References