Ms. Erma Jenkins, Chairman of the Emanuel County Hospital Authority was pleased.  “This agreement is the culmination of a long and diligent search for a strategic partner for our hospital.  ER Hospitals, LLC is a perfect fit for our hospital, its needs and its plans for the future.”

Brian Riddle, hospital CEO explains further.  “We have been earnestly looking for some form of strategic alliance with a larger entity to give us the financial wherewithal to expand our facilities and services to the citizens of Emanuel County.  We were reluctant, however to give up local authority to essentially a competitor in fear our goals and objectives might not completely align and their decisions would primarily be in support of their own agenda..  ER Hospitals, LLC offered us the perfect compromise between local say-so and expert outside management experience, with significant financial backing.  This alliance is exactly what we were looking for.”

Kirk Olsen, a partner at ER Hospitals, added his own thoughts.  “Small, rural hospitals face so many headwinds in today’s political and economic environment, it has become difficult for them to perform the mission for which they were established.  ER Hospital’s business model is to  approach small and medium sized hospitals in situations exactly like Emanuel Medical’s and offer our financial and management resources to help them not only weather the storm, but  thrive.  We have been very successful with this model, primarily in the western states, but see absolutely no reason why it shouldn’t work as well here.  This is our first foray into Georgia and we were very selective about our primary venture.  After narrowing the field to four hospitals, statewide, we chose Emanuel Medical as the outstanding prospect for an alliance with our company.  Emanuel Medical Center is an absolute jewel, lacking only the depth of financial and management resources to achieve its potential.  We are very happy to be in Swainsboro and to team up with your great hospital.”

The management agreement and lease includes Emanuel Medical Center, Emanuel Emergency Medical Services and Emanuel Nursing Home.  Emanuel Medical Center will continue to operate as a not-for-profit hospital serving the citizens of Emanuel County.  ER Hospitals manages hospitals in Nevada and now, Georgia and is currently developing projects in California and Texas.

Brian Riddle, hospital CEO explains the switch to the new system.  “We were looking for two things; an accreditation system that would align us with Medicare and Medicaid’s conditions of participation and a program that is integrated in the ISO 9001 quality disciplines.  To achieve national accreditation on our first inspection, is a credit to the professionalism of our staff and doctors.  I am very proud of them.”

DNV hospital accreditation addresses the demands of today’s hospitals dedicated to patient-centered care.  As part of the process, DNV surveyors will visit Emanuel Medical Center annually instead of every three years, as was done previously.  They monitor the hospital’s adherence to patient safety criteria as established by CMS, but also evaluate processes that impact patient care across various departments and facilities of the hospital.

“It is a much more comprehensive system,” Mr. Riddle continues.  “DNV is very thorough, yet it’s not intrusive.  We see collaboration in helping us find opportunities to improve.  We now look upon accreditation as a strategic business tool and as a mechanism to empower our staff.”

Being accredited by DNV allows EMC to receive reimbursement for its patients covered by Medicare and Medicaid.

DNV Healthcare, Inc. is based in Cincinnati, Ohio.  It is part of Det Norske Veritas, a global independent foundation dedicated to safeguarding life, property and the environment.  For more information about DNV, visit dnvaccreditation.com

TERWILLIGER HONORED BY THE GOVERNOR

Georgia Governor Nathan Deal recognized eight public safety professionals for their contributions to their profession today in ceremonies at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center in Forsyth.  Among those honored is Courtney Terwilliger of Emanuel County EMS (L), shown here accepting congratulations from Tim Bearden, Executive Director of the training center..  His commendation reads:

   “Courtney L. Terwilliger has devoted his entire career to the emergency medical services (EMS) community, and no one has dedicated more time and effort advocating for the advancement of the EMS profession.  Courtney was first licensed as an EMT in 1977 and has worked with Emanuel County Emergency Medical Service as a medic, educator and director to help his rural community since that time.  As an educator, Courtney taught first responder courses, EMT and paramedic courses, as well as vehicle extrication and a number of the life support courses.  During his distinguished career, he has served as an EMS director for 30 years, overseeing one of the oldest ambulance services in Georgia. In that time, he also served his community as Emanuel County Emergency Management Agency director and as aintegral member of the local hospital’s management team.  In addition to his exceptional contributions to the local emergency response system, Courtney has demonstrated impressive leadership on the regional level, having been an active member of the regional EMS Council for virtually his entire career and is past chair of that organization.  While his accomplishments at the local and regional levels are indeed exemplary and worthy of this award, Courtney is most often recognized for his contributions on the state level. He has served as a member of the state EMS Advisory Council (EMSAC) for almost 25 years and currently is in his eighth year as the chair of EMSAC.  In addition, Courtney serves as chair of the Georgia Association of EMS and vice-president of the director’s division.  In 2008, Courtney was instrumental in establishing the East Georgia EMS Educational Consortium, which is a partnership focused on enhancing EMS education and improving patient outcomes in rural communities.  He was also one of the driving forces for the Enhancement of Patient Care Reporting Project, an initiative that is distributing 800 laptop computers to Georgia’s EMS providers.   When not working to better the EMS profession, Courtney is an active member of the Nunez Baptist Church, serving as the church’s Sunday school director, and is assistant scout master for Boy Scout Troop 75. In 2010, Courtney received the prestigious Dr. Zeb L. Burrell, Jr. Distinguished Service Award for his contribution to the development and enhancement of the delivery of pre-hospital emergency care.  Courtney demonstrates high ideals, irreproachable character and selfless dedication to EMS, which makes him one of Georgia’s most outstanding EMS pioneers and leaders.”

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Please use the following links to request support from Information Systems or the Business Office.

• Information Systems Task Management System  
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You may also log into The Nurition Care Manuel

The Username is pmeadows@emanuelmedical.org

The password tequila.

If you have any questions on how to use The Nurition Care Manuel please contact Pat Meadows in Dietary and she will help you navigate through the website.

Below are links to information on FEMA training.

• ICS-100 Introduction to Incident Command System, ICS-100
• ICS-200 ICS for Single Resources and Initial Action Incidents
• ICS-700 National Incident Management System (NIMS), An Introduction