Spring has finally arrived and we have much to be thankful for during this season of resurrection and new life. I continue to appreciate Covenant Health employees for putting our patients first and striving for excellence, and I offer additional thanks to the many employees across our health system who are helping deliver COVID-19 vaccinations to their colleagues and our communities. The vaccine is an important step toward the prospect of gathering safely with family and friends, and enjoying warm-weather activities in East Tennessee. If you have not yet received a COVID-19 vaccine, they are available through Covenant Health, and you can schedule your appointment online at CovenantHealth.com/vaccine.
We are in the process of several annual observances related to healthcare. We recently celebrated National Doctors’ Day to honor our 1500+ physicians for their expertise and their commitment to excellent patient care. We created two video “thank you” messages, including a collective “greetings and gratitude” message from Covenant Health employees and volunteers, and a collaborative message with other Knoxville-area hospital organizations that features former patients. We are looking forward to other celebrations of Nurses Week, Hospital Week and EMS Week in May.
I’m pleased to recognize Covenant Health and Covenant Medical Group, our physician practice organization, for recently being named among the “most wired” healthcare organizations in the U.S. The Digital Health Most Wired designation is given to healthcare organizations that use information technology effectively throughout their operational areas, from electronic health records to IT security. The Most Wired designation is presented by the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) and is endorsed by the Malcolm Baldrige Foundation as the top IT performance excellence and benchmark recognition program.
I also congratulate 24 of CMG’s primary care practices which recently received recognition as Patient-Centered Medical Homes from the National Committee for Quality Assurance. This recognition means the practices are focused on continually improving their quality of care and their patients’ overall experience in terms of medical care, communications and staff interactions. I appreciate CMG’s commitment to excellence in all of these areas.
In future Full Circle blogs I’ll provide updates on our recently announced tele-ICU initiative that will enhance critical care services at our member hospitals, and I’ll report on several of our construction projects that are in progress or getting underway this year. As always, I am honored to work alongside the thousands of dedicated employees and physicians of Covenant Health, and I am grateful to our communities for your support and trust.