ED Express Opened at the Downey Campus
PIH Health Downey Hospital opened a new unit called ED Express in October 2018. This unit is an extension of the current Downey Emergency Department treating lower acuity nonemergent patients. ED Express is equipped with 10 patient rooms, a waiting area and registration desk. This unit provides more efficient patient care and fosters greater patient satisfaction. ED Express served 20,547 patients in its first year.
PIH Health Named 2019 CHIME HealthCare’s Most Wired Recipient
PIH Health Downey Hospital, PIH Health Whittier Hospital, and PIH Health Physicians were named 2019 Most Wired organizations by the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME). PIH Heath Whittier Hospital received the Most Wired award for the sixth year, PIH Health Downey Hospital won recognition for the second year, and PIH Health Physicians was recognized for the first time!
The Most Wired award recognizes hospitals or health systems that are at the forefront of using healthcare information technology to improve the delivery of care and are maximizing the benefits of foundational technologies while embracing and applying new technologies strategically to support population management and value-based care to achieve better outcomes.
In 2019, PIH Health was recognized for its “My PIH Health” patient portal, and its effort to improve patient engagement, experience, and safety. Also, in 2018, PIH Health Downey Hospital was recognized as a Most Improved facility and PIH Health Whittier Hospital was recognized as a Most Wired hospital.
These awards are a tribute to the effort and dedication of our staff’s continuous work to refine and sustain a robust consumer-focused application system.
PIH Health Whittier Hospital Celebrated 60 Years
On January 19, 2019, PIH Health Whittier Hospital celebrated its 60th anniversary. In 1959, we began as a single 188-bed hospital. Today PIH Health has evolved into a fully integrated healthcare delivery system that includes PIH Health Whittier Hospital, PIH Health Downey, PIH Health Physicians, six urgent care centers, home health, hospice, and 27 medical office locations.
“Throughout its 60-year history, PIH Health Whittier Hospital’s innovation and ‘Patients First’ vision has fostered continued improvement of its award-winning, quality healthcare,” explained James R. West who has served as PIH Health president and chief executive officer since 2004. “Whether through electronic records implementations, new construction or expansion of life-saving services, this organization delivers the very best in healthcare.”
To celebrate the 60th anniversary, banners were displayed throughout the city of Whittier, along Whittier Boulevard, in Uptown Whittier along Greenleaf Avenue, and on the campus PIH Health Whittier Hospital. The history wall of photos commemorating the growth and legacy of PIH Health’s service to the community located just outside of the administration department in the hospital was updated. Proclamations and recognitions honoring PIH Health Whittier Hospital’s 60th Anniversary were presented by Congresswoman Linda Sanchez, the United States House of Representatives, Assembly Member Ian Calderon, and Mayor Joe Vinatieri of the City of Whittier. Campus-wide communications, events, and celebrations incorporated the theme of “Celebrating 60 Years of Caring” for the Whittier community. We appreciate the work of the physicians, staff and volunteers of PIH Health Whittier Hospital for caring for our community. We look forward to the next 60 years!
PIH Health Downey Hospital Recognized as Primary Stroke Center
PIH Health Downey Hospital attained advanced certification by The Joint Commission as a Primary Stroke Center (PSC) in February 2019. This means that the hospital met The Joint Commission’s high standards in providing stroke care and will provide its surrounding communities with access to the next generation of stroke care.
Stroke is the fifth-leading cause of death and a common cause of adult disability in the United States, according to the American Stroke Association. On average, someone suffers a stroke every 40 seconds; someone dies of a stroke every four minutes; and 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year. In the surrounding community of Downey, stroke is the third-leading cause of death.
Additionally, the Los Angeles County Emergency Medical Service (EMS) Agency designated PIH Health Downey Hospital as a Primary Stroke Center in 2019. This will result in EMS transporting suspected stroke patients to our Emergency Department where care can be provided by our highly-trained team. This certification provides stroke patients in our community with advanced treatment options, making fast response times and positive outcomes a reality.
PIH Health is proud of the Downey team for demonstrating a high level of commitment to the care of stroke patients.
Pioneer Medical Group Became Part of PIH Health Physicians
PIH Health Physicians (PHP) acquired Pioneer Medical Group and all its assets in July 2019. The acquistion marked a great milestone in PIH Health’s history, as we welcomed all 46 of Pioneer’s healthcare providers into PIH Health Physicians.
With this acquisition, PHP added eight medical office buildings to its network, which are spread throughout the cities of Bellflower, Cerritos, Downey, Long Beach, Los Alamitos, and South Gate; extending PIH Health’s reach of services to well over 500,000 community members.
We are excited for this new chapter of growth and development for our organization. PHP is dedicated to sustaining the strong community presence that Pioneer Medical Group has built over the years. We look forward to being a trusted partner in the health and wellness of our newest patients.
PIH Health Enters Affiliated Agreement with Good Samaritan Hospital, Los Angeles
PIH Health and Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, announced an affiliation agreement in September 2019 that will align the two mission-driven healthcare organizations. Good Samaritan Hospital will be fully integrated into the PIH Health system in a manner that will permanently maintain and enhance Good Samaritan Hospital’s ability to provide outstanding patient care to the thousands of patients it serves each week.
“Good Samaritan Hospital has been a cornerstone of excellent healthcare in Los Angeles for more than 130 years,” said James R. West, PIH Health President and Chief Executive Officer. “We are thrilled to welcome their physicians, staff and patients to the PIH Health family as we work together to provide outstanding care to patients right in their own communities.”
PIH Health will invest resources and capital to provide Good Samaritan Hospital with the ability to remain dedicated to the highest quality healthcare in its current location in downtown Los Angeles.
PIH Health Physicians Welcomes New Physicians to the PIH Health
In addition to the 46 healthcare providers who joined PIH Health Physicians (PHP) through the Pioneer Medical Group acquisition, the organization added 46 more primary care doctors and specialists to provide care for our community. The new physicians represented a vast range of specialities that included family medicine, neurology, rheumatology, cardiology, gastroenterology, and more. We were pleased to welcome these new physicians to the PIH Health family. PHP is the exclusive medical group that provides access to both award-winning PIH Health hospitals in Downey and Whittier.
PIH Health Whittier Hospital Receives 2019 NRC Health Excellence Award for 10th Consecutive Year
PIH Health Whittier Hospital received an NRC Health 2019 Excellence Award at the 25th Annual NRC Health Symposium in Nashville, Tenn. This was the 10th consecutive year that PIH Health Whittier Hospital received the award.
NRC Health recognizes top-performing hospitals and health systems that have exhibited an exceptional commitment to understanding each individual’s complete care journey. The Excellence Awards recognize elite organizations which have received the highest ratings in overall satisfaction by patients and their families.
Social Media Success: 10K followers on Facebook. Other social platforms continue to grow
PIH Health continued to strengthen its social media presence this past year and our social media platforms are growing exponentially. Our posts on social media consist of medical chats; infographics; quick access to medical tips; patient success stories; healthy food recipes; and features about our staff, volunteers, and physicians. We ended Fiscal Year 2018-2019 with a total of 10,971 followers on Facebook, 2,283 followers on Instagram and 1,422 followers on Twitter. We are delighted with our continued growth on our social media channels.
Instagram (@pihhealth)
Twitter (@pihhealth)
LinkedIn (linkedIn.com/company/PIHHealth)
Glassdoor (PIHHealth)
PIH Health Earned Designation as a Great Place to Work-Certified™ Organization in 2019
In September 2019, PIH Health became Great Place to Work-Certified™. Certification is a significant achievement. Using validated employee feedback gathered with Great Place to Work’s rigorous, data-driven for all methodology, certification confirms that a minimum of seven out of 10 employees have a consistently positive experience.
“We were pleased to be Great Place to Work-Certified™,” says James R. West, PIH Health president and chief executive officer. “We make employee experience a priority every day and it means a lot that our employees have reported a consistently positive experience with their coworkers, their leaders, and with their jobs. This is important to us because we know that when our employees have a high-trust experience every day they are more productive, make a difference to our patients and drive better business results.”
Great Place to Work® is the global authority on workplace culture. Since 1992, they have surveyed more than 100 million employees around the world and used those deep insights to define what makes a great workplace: trust. Great Place to Work’s benchmark data is used to recognize Great Place to Work-Certified™ companies and the Best Workplaces™ in the US and more than 60 countries, including the 100 Best Companies to Work For® and World’s Best list published annually in Fortune.