Congratulating the staff on this national honor were: (from left): Board Chair Martha Lavender, RN, MSN, DSN, Assistant to the President at Gadsden State Community College and a member of the Alabama Board of Nursing; Wally Barthel, who served on the Board for 22 years, 16 as Chair; Dr. Braden Richmond, Vice Chair of both the Board and Medical Staff; Michael Wiechart, COO of Capella Healthcare; and Jim Edmondson, CEO of JMC.

JACKSONVILLE, AL – Jacksonville Medical Center (JMC) has been named the 13th “Best Place to Work in Healthcare” by Modern Healthcare. It is the only organization in Alabama to make the prestigious listing, which recognizes 100 “outstanding” health care employers, including hospitals, physician practices, insurers, suppliers, and consulting groups.

The ranked order was announced this week at an awards celebration in Chicago, following the August announcement of the Top 100. Only 7 of the top 15 were hospitals, placing JMC in a very select group.

“Research shows that having employees who are pleased with their workplace and happy with their jobs leads to better care and more satisfied patients,” said JMC CEO Jim Edmondson. “Over the past year, we’ve focused on educating the community about our high patient satisfaction scores through advertising and on our website. This national recognition for our employee satisfaction is certainly additional validation of the dedication and hard work of our staff. We are excited about the new visibility this will bring to our hospital and the community. I’m so proud to work with such an impassioned team of committed caregivers.”

The Modern Healthcare “Best Places to Work in Healthcare” list was compiled using information gathered from employers and employees of companies with at least 25 employees as part of a no-cost application process. For the application, employers completed a survey detailing their policies and practices, benefits, and employee demographics. Meanwhile, employees were asked to evaluate their employer in eight areas, including:

  • Leadership and planning
  • Culture and communications
  • Role satisfaction
  • Working environment
  • Relationship with supervisor
  • Training and development
  • Pay and benefits and
  • Overall satisfaction

Modern Healthcare is the industry’s leading source of healthcare business and policy news, research and information. The complete list of the “Best Places to Work in Healthcare” can be found at: www.modernhealthcare.com.

Jacksonville Medical Center is part of Capella Healthcare, which partners with communities to build strong local healthcare systems that are known for high quality patient care and excellent service. One of the reasons Edmondson joined Capella Healthcare, he says, becoming CEO at Jacksonville Medical Center in 2010, was the company’s commitment to service excellence, demonstrated in their investment in resources that help their hospitals. The company’s partnership with The Studer Group is one he cites as being most helpful. “These resources have helped us to put the very best ‘Evidence-Based Leadership’ practices in place,” he says.

About Jacksonville Medical Center

Jacksonville Medical Center (JMC) offers community-focused healthcare services in Jacksonville, AL. The people of JMC dedicate themselves to providing the highest quality of health care to the people of North Calhoun County, AL and the surrounding areas. An 89-bed hospital accredited by The Joint Commission, JMC offers an extensive range of medical and surgical services. For more information, visit: www.jacksonvillemedicalcenter.com.

August 22, 2011

Capella Healthcare’s Jacksonville Medical Center (JMC) has been selected for Modern Healthcare’s fourth annual list of the “Best Places to Work in Healthcare.” The 2011 listing has just been published on Modern Healthcare’s website in alphabetical order, with the ranked order to be revealed at an awards banquet in Chicago on October 18 to honor the recipients. JMC is the only organization in Alabama to make the prestigious listing, which recognizes 100 “outstanding” health care employers, including hospitals, physician practices, insurers, suppliers, and consulting groups.

To learn more about this prestigious honor, see the video announcement and listing of the winners at www.modernhealthcare.com/bestplaceslist.

“Modern Healthcare congratulates all of the 100 organizations named to the magazine’s list of the Best Places to Work in Healthcare for 2011,” said Fawn Lopez, publisher of Modern Healthcare. “These healthcare employers demonstrate that building a culture in which employees are supported and engaged, benefits not only patients and customers but the employers’ financial performance as well.”

The list was compiled using information gathered from employers and employees of companies with at least 25 employees as part of a no-cost application process. For the application, employers completed a survey detailing their policies and practices, benefits, and employee demographics. Meanwhile, employees were asked to evaluate their employer in eight areas, including:

  • Leadership and planning
  • Culture and communications
  • Role satisfaction
  • Working environment
  • Relationship with supervisor
  • Training and development
  • Pay and benefits and
  • Overall satisfaction

“I’m so proud to have the privilege of leading such an impassioned team of committed caregivers. In fact, I’m humbled by the results,” said JMC CEO Jim Edmondson.

Having happy employees and physicians leads to better care and more satisfied patients, Edmondson says. “We don’t currently have any clinical vacancies and we don’t have to use any contract labor. In fact, we have a waiting list of people who want to work here. And, physicians know that having consistent staff helps to insure a higher quality of care.”

Over the past year, JMC has been touting its high patient satisfaction scores in advertising and on their website, as the highest in the area.

JMC is part of Capella Healthcare, which partners with communities to build strong local healthcare systems that are known for high quality patient care and excellent service. One of the reasons Edmondson joined Capella Healthcare, taking the CEO post at Jacksonville Medical Center CEO in 2010, was the company’s commitment to service excellence, demonstrated in their investment in resources that help their hospitals. The company’s partnership with The Studer Group is one he cites as being most helpful. “These resources have helped us to put the very best ‘Evidence-Based Leadership’ practices in place.” Video interviews featuring Edmondson discussing his leadership philosophy are featured on Capella Healthcare’s YouTube Channel (links below).

News of this national award follows closely on the heels of JMC’s recognition at Capella Healthcare’s annual STARS banquet for having achieved the highest scores in employee satisfaction during the most recent annual survey.

On YouTube: Hospital CEO Discusses Partnership with Studer Group

One of the reasons Jim Edmondson joined Capella Healthcare, taking the CEO post at Jacksonville Medical Center CEO in 2010, was the company’s commitment to service excellence, demonstrated in their investment in resources that help their hospitals. “Previously, I was so jealous of the organizations (like Capella) that had engaged The Studer Group. I had tried to home-grow the program myself but wasn’t able to fully engage it like the folks at Capella’s hospitals had, so that was a big, big plus for me joining Capella.”

Jacksonville Medical Center was “…well-groomed by the time I got here. (There were) engaged employees, they were already doing LDIs, all of the ‘must haves’ had been rolled out… I fell into a great set of arms when I fell into Jacksonville Medical Center and Capella,” he says.

During their most recent employee satisfaction survey, Jacksonville Medical Center set a new record with their results with an overall satisfaction score of 3.50 (out of 4.0), placing them in the 96th percentile among all HealthStream Research survey participants. That’s up from 3.35 in 2010 and 3.28 in 2009. In fact, for 30 of the 36 questions, JMC’s results were in the 90th percentile among all participants.

“I’m proud to lead such an impassioned team. In fact, I’m humbled by the results,” Edmondson said. So what do you do when you’re at the top? Plenty, he says. “To make sure we respond to concerns that employees expressed, we invited Capella’s Studer Group Coach Dan Collard to spend time with the management team to help determine how to get the most from our survey results. Even with great results, we can always be better by addressing department-specific issues, low scores compared to the average, and emphasizing the areas we already do well in.”

On YouTube: JMC CEO Discusses Evidence-Based Leadership

CEO Jim Edmondson talks about the organization’s focus on service excellence. Working with The Studer Group, the hospital has significantly improved employee, physician and patient satisfaction. “We help organizations hard-wire Evidence-Based Leadership practices,” says Studer Group Coach Dan Studer, who has worked with Jim at several hospitals. “It’s about alignment of goals, behaviors and processes… And at the end of the day, the only thing you need to look at is the organization’s own report card.”

As a leader, traits that are vital for success include transparency, humility and a sense of humor, Edmondson says.

Jacksonville Medical Center was recognized at Capella Healthcare’s annual STARS banquet for having the highest employee satisfaction. Receiving the plaque from Capella’s Chief Operating Officer Mike Wiechart are (from left) CEO Jim Edmondson, CFO Tammy Cobb, and CNO JeanAnn McMurrey