Black Hills Surgical Hospital Ranks Number One for Major Orthopedic Surgery

 

Two familiar names in the horse industry, Dr Lew Papendick and Kerry Papendick, are being honored for their surgical hospital’s ranking for medical excellence.  Lew and his wife, Kerry, and their family are notable in the horse industry for the late horse Harley D Zip, and current World Champion Chex Out My Dough, among others. Read the news article about Black Hills Surgical Hospital below:

 

RAPID CITY, S.D.

Mackenzie Dahlberg

KNBN – NewsCenter1

With quality care and customer service for their patients, Black Hills Surgical Hospital (BHSH) has been ranked as the number one hospital in the nation for major orthopedic surgery for medical excellence. Orthopedics is a branch of surgery that takes care of the musculoskeletal system like hips, knees, spines, hands and feet.

This ranking, announced by CareChex Awards, is based on the quality score of inpatient performance.

CareChex ranking:

The score is comprised of the number of incidents like complications and readmissions, as well as the levels of patient safety, inpatient service and surgical quality. BHSH was compared against around 5,000 U.S. hospitals, including general, acute and non-federal.

CareChex Awards by Quantros uses peer-reviewed, risk-adjustment methods for reliable rates of incidents and do not use any self-reported data.

Why BHSH was number one:

BHSH had the fewest incidents and highest levels of patient safety and surgical quality.

“We strive to do great patient care every day. And we focus on how we deliver that care and how patients perceive and experience their care here,” Lew Papendick, orthopedic surgeon of Black Hills Surgical Hospital, said. “It means that every person that a patient encounters, it’s that interaction that’s very important from the time they step in the building and are met by our reception staff, the smile that they have on their face and how they’re greeted, and then the care that the individual nurses and staff provide.”

“Also, if patients spend a night here, it’s how quiet the room is, the attentiveness of our nursing staff, all the support people around in surgery, our surgical techs. It’s very meaningful for them to be experts in their area and they strive to do the best that they can. That’s sort of the culture that’s been delivered here, and that’s what’s really important to deliver the care we do.”

BHSH was also ranked first by CareChex in the market for Overall Hospital Care, Overall Surgical Care and General Surgery in both Medical Excellence and Patient Safety.

How it feels to earn this award:

Papendick says that there is a lot of joy felt throughout the office.

“To be awarded that distinguished award, I can just feel the staff seem to have a little extra step right now. They’re happy about the whole situation and you can feel the positive energy,” Papendick said.

How will BHSH use this achievement in their future?

“Several years ago, we were ranked sixth in the nation and we thought, ‘why not become number one?’ So, now that we’ve achieved that goal, I think the key is to try and maintain that same level. But it’s not about the award, it’s about the patient care that we deliver,” Papendick said.

He also says that it’s truly a team effort at the facility and it takes everyone to continue the quality work.

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Some fun Equine Chronicle candids of the Papendick family: