Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE: THC) announced today that Saint Louis University Hospital in St. Louis, Mo., led by Chief Executive Officer Crystal Haynes and the administrative team, has been selected to the company’s 2005 Circle of Excellence. Additionally, Rhonda Wehmeyer, a Level III staff nurse at Saint Louis University Hospital, has been inducted into the Caregiver Hall of Fame.
Tenet’s annual Circle of Excellence award recognizes the winning hospitals’ accomplishments in a number of different areas and is intended to honor the teamwork, collaboration and cooperation that are required to operate a successful hospital. Hospitals are evaluated based on such factors as high ratings for patient, employee and physician satisfaction, consistency of the hospital leadership team, proven success at overcoming difficult challenges, and financial performance.
“Through the hard work and dedication of its leadership and staff, Saint Louis University Hospital has become a role model for other Tenet hospitals and an essential part of the health care community in the area it serves,” said Reynold Jennings, Tenet’s chief operating officer. “Under Crystal’s leadership, Saint Louis University Hospital strives to provide preeminent medical care for its patients, as well as excellent working conditions to attract and retain the best employees. They are thoroughly deserving of Tenet’s highest award.”
Haynes and Chief Nursing Officer Gloria Miller-Bogus led the way to the hospital’s success. Under their leadership the hospital continued to demonstrate its prominence as a high-quality leader in the St. Louis medical community by introducing in the new CyberKnife technology, as well as new PET/CT service. In addition, they were outstanding contributors to Tenet’s Commitment to Quality initiative. The hospital was recently nominated for the Missouri Quality Award for its work in improving the delivery of preoperative antibiotics.
Tenet’s regional executives nominate candidates for the Circle of Excellence from the hospitals they supervise. Winners are selected based on both objective criteria, such as patient, physician and employee satisfaction scores, and subjective evaluations.
Rhonda Wehmeyer exemplifies everything a nurse should be. She’s a natural-born leader, intelligent, unassuming, dedicated, organized, gentle, calm and, most of all, passionate about her work. Every day Rhonda provides exceptional care in the oncology and bone marrow transplantation unit at Saint Louis University Hospital. It takes a very special talent to care for patients who are literally fighting for their lives and Rhonda’s ability to provide them with both comfort and hope is truly awe-inspiring.
“Tenet is very fortunate to have dedicated, professional and compassionate people like Rhonda in our hospitals,” said Trevor Fetter, Tenet’s president and chief executive officer. “The Caregiver Award winner represents the best of who we are and what we stand for at Tenet, which is providing excellent quality care to our patients. Rhonda Wehmeyer is thoroughly deserving of this honor.”
Wehmeyer is just one of four people inducted into this year’s Caregiver Hall of Fame and the only awardee from Tenet’s Central Northest-Southern States Region. Caregiver award winners are nominated by their hospital’s CEO. Winners are selected from dozens of nominees, based on both objective criteria, such as extraordinary examples of patient care, devotion to service, technical skills and comments from co-workers, patients and families, and physicians.
Saint Louis University Hospital is a 356-bed academic teaching hospital located at 3635 Vista Avenue in St. Louis, Mo. The hospital has been serving the medical and health care needs of the St. Louis community for more than 70 years. Saint Louis University Hospital is a regional leader in providing tertiary-quaternary health care and has one of the most comprehensive organ transplant programs in the Midwest. The hospital is also a certified Level I Trauma Center in both Missouri and Illinois. Other specialties include geriatrics, orthopedics, rheumatology, urology, heart care and digestive diseases. Saint Louis University Hospital is accredited by the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, the nation’s oldest and largest hospital accreditation agency. To learn more about Saint Louis University Hospital, visit www.sluhospital.com.
Tenet Healthcare Corporation, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates acute care hospitals and related health care services. Tenet’s hospitals aim to provide the best possible care to every patient who comes through their doors, with a clear focus on quality and service. Tenet can be found on the World Wide Web at www.tenethealth.com.
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Some of the statements in this release may constitute forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on our current expectations and could be affected by numerous factors and are subject to various risks and uncertainties discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2004, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and periodic reports on Form 8-K. Do not rely on any forward-looking statement, as we cannot predict or control many of the factors that ultimately may affect our ability to achieve the results estimated. We make no promise to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of changes in underlying factors, new information, future events or otherwise.