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BY GINA CZARK
gczark@nwitimes.com
219.933.3234 | Wednesday, December 29, 2004 | (No comments posted.)
For the first time, residents can find out the most up-to-date information about their local hospitals through the Internet.
The information, which ranges from staffing levels to the number of deficiencies, is available through the Indiana State Department of Health Web site. Other health care facilities, including nursing homes and hospices, also are profiled.
Profiles are listed for 135 acute care hospitals in the state, said Terry Whitson, assistant commissioner for Indiana's Health Care Regulatory Services. A hospital's information will be updated every two weeks or when officials complete a new survey of a facility.
In Lake County, 10 hospitals were surveyed and profiled along with Porter hospital in Porter County.
Whitson said posting information online would help consumers and encourage healthcare providers to provide better care, including reducing the number of deficiency citations.
In 2004, the state's average for deficiencies in hospitals was three, a decrease from five in 2002. Only two hospitals, Illiana Medical Institute in Munster and Methodist Hospitals exceeded that amount with five and eight citations, respectively. The Community Hospital and St. Anthony Medical Center had three, while the remaining seven hospitals had fewer.
In cases where deficiencies are cited, Whitson said hospital officials quickly develop a plan of correction.
The only location that boasted zero deficiencies and substantiated complaints was Regency Hospital Northwest Indiana. The acute long-term care facility opened in July 2003 and operates from a remodeled fourth floor wing of St. Catherine's Hospital in East Chicago.
"We teach our staff to really care about people," said Rod Laughlin, president of Regency Hospital Company. "We're in a very high pressure environment, and people are very sick, but if you treat people with compassion and show patients and their families you care about them as people, they'll really respect your program."
In terms of hospitals, Whitson said Indiana is likely in better shape than most other states. In 2003, the top state violations were in nursing service, physical environment and infection control, Whitson said.
"In Northwest Indiana, there has been a serious nursing shortage and it's definitely been a problem," Whitson said.
To find consumer reports on facilities, such as hospitals, nursing homes and hospices, visit the Indiana Health Department's Web site at http://www.in.gov/isdh/ and click on consumer reports on the left-hand side of the page.
To file a complaint against a hospital or other health care facility, call the Health Department's anonymous hotline at (800) 246-8909.
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