The Minnesota Hospital Association (MHA) recently named Buffalo Hospital the Best Minnesota Hospital Workplace and Innovator of the Year in Patient Care. The 2003 MHA Health Care Awards honored the best and brightest in Minnesota health care. The Best Minnesota Hospital Workplace award is designed to honor hospitals that “go the extra mile” in enhancing employee satisfaction. This is the second time Buffalo Hospital was named the Best Minnesota Hospital Workplace in the small hospital category. Judging was based on retention strategies and outcomes, demonstrated effectiveness in raising employee morale, and employee descriptions of the work environment. In this very mobile society and during a time of health care worker shortages, Buffalo Hospital employees rated their work environment significantly higher than their counterparts in Minnesota and the nation. “Through innovative employee selection, involvement, compensation, communications and safety initiatives, we are retaining the best talent and building an outstanding team of health care workers,” said Steve Bauman, director of human resources at Buffalo Hospital. “I have always believed that the true character of a hospital is determined by its employees, volunteers, and medical staff,” said Mary Ellen Wells, president of Buffalo Hospital. “This community is blessed with an organization filled with dedicated, top notch people who deliver outstanding care. Receiving this award for the second time is a testament to their commitment and ownership of its success.” The Innovation of the Year award honors hospitals that implement creative, new methods and models for the delivery of patient care. Judging was based on originality, scope, demonstrated effectiveness and potential for applicability to other hospitals. Buffalo Hospital has a history of innovation. In 2002, Buffalo Hospital was the first small hospital in the nation to offer InstyMeds, an Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) dispenser of prescription medications for emergency and urgent care patients. Buffalo Hospital teamed with Minneapolis-based Mendota HealthCare to implement the InstyMeds System. “InstyMeds offers convenient access to prescription medications for Buffalo Hospital patients obtaining care at odd hours,” said Tom Plihal, RPh, pharmacy manager at Buffalo Hospital. “The system eliminates the need for a stop at a pharmacy when patients aren’t feeling well.” “The added convenience has increased patient satisfaction and helped to ensure that patients fill and take their prescribed medication,” said Tracy Powell, MD, emergency physician at Buffalo Hospital. Here’s how the system works. After a physician enters a prescription on a hand-held computer including instructions for taking it, patients are given the option of a traditional paper prescription or using InstyMeds. Those who choose InstyMeds are given a unique security code. The patient then enters that number and their date of birth on the touch-screen of a machine that resembles an ATM. Co-payments can be made by swiping a debit or credit card or paying hospital personnel with cash or a check. After the machine double-checks bar codes, the pre-packaged, pre-measured product is dispensed from the machine along with written instructions. Patients with questions can talk with the emergency physician or call an InstyMeds pharmacist from a nearby phone. The entire process typically takes about three minutes. For information about employment opportunities at Buffalo Hospital, call (763) 682-7163 or go to www.buffalohospital.org. Buffalo Hospital is a non-profit regional medical center committed to improving the health of the communities it serves in Wright County and the surrounding areas.
