University Hospital (Augusta, Georgia)

University Hospital
University Health Care System
Geography
Location Augusta, Georgia, United States
Organization
Care system Non-profit
Hospital type Community
Services
Beds 581
History
Founded 1818
Links
Website http://www.universityhealth.org
Lists Hospitals in 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:

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.

References

External links

Coordinates: 33°28′23″N 81°58′55″W / 33.473°N 81.982°W