St. Luke’s In Duluth Recognized With Guardian Of Excellence Award
One of the medical organizations that has a facility in Duluth recently received some national recognition. The St. Luke's regional health care system was recognized by Press Ganey with their Guardian of Excellence Award - making it one of only eight health care facilities in the country to be honored with this national award.
The Guardian of Excellence Award was given to St. Luke's for proving "it's commitment to the safety of patients by sustaining performance within the top 5% nationally for quality and safety measures for each quarter during the reporting year for the award". This most-recent award presentation is based off the reporting for calendar year 2020.
Members of the organization see the award and the national recognition as validation of the job that they're doing. St. Luke's Co-President CEO and CMO Nick Van Deelen, MD explains:
"Earning this honor shows what incredible work our dedicated staff is doing day in and day out to care for our patients. Receiving this recognition during a pandemic is especially incredible. It demonstrates that our patients always receive the highest quality of care at St. Luke's".
According to details released with the award news, the criteria for recognition is multifold. Data from "12 active and representative clinical measures (is used) to calculate the overall composite score. Measures included emergency department, outpatient services, pregnancy and related conditions, stroke, tobacco, and venous thromboembolism". [Venous thromboembolism refers to blood clots in the veins]
With clinics and a hospital in Duluth, St. Luke's is a regional health care system serving residents of northeastern Minnesota, northwestern Wisconsin, and the western Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Along with the hospital in Duluth, St. Luke's also has one in Two Harbors, two ambulatory surgery centers, and more than 40 primary care and specialty clinics throughout the region.