Quality, Accreditations, & Patient Satisfaction

Southeast Health is a dynamic, growing organization with a 420-bed hospital, a medical school and clinics throughout the region. It is our vision to be recognized as the healthcare provider of choice, and that means consistently providing a high quality patient care experience for those we serve.

We believe offering high-quality, evidence-based care leads to more lives saved and less time in the hospital. Many factors can be used to compare the quality of care provided by a hospital, these may include:

  • Does the hospital monitor and continually strive to improve its quality?
  • Does the hospital meet national quality standards?
  • Does the hospital meet or exceed quality standards for my condition?

Accreditation is another way to judge quality. Hospitals can choose to be surveyed by a state agency or a CMS approved independent accreditation agency to determine if they meet certain quality standards. When a hospital or hospital service is surveyed, the reviewer evaluates whether the standards they use to measure quality have been met. If a hospital or hospital service meets the specified standards, they are accredited. Southeast Health’s facilities and services are accredited in the following areas:

Hospital Accreditation

Southeast Health participates in an outcomes based accreditation program and is surveyed annually.

Comprehensive Stroke Center

Southeast Health has demonstrated excellence by complying with standards of care and implementing clinical best practices for the care of stroke patients.

Chest Pain Center

Southeast Health is accredited by the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care. Accredited hospitals have achieved a higher level of expertise when dealing with patients who arrive with symptoms of a heart attack.

Diagnostic Imaging

Many of Southeast Health’s imaging services have been accredited by the American College of Radiology (ACR), these include: Mammography, Stereotactic Mammography, Breast Ultrasound, Breast MRI, Ultrasound, MRI and CT.

Patient Satisfaction scores for Southeast Health

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Southeast Health like many hospitals across the nation is intensely focused on improving the quality of care that is provided. One way we stay focused on quality improvement is to keep track of patient outcomes for certain procedures. Another way is to keep track of patient injuries and infections that occur in the hospital. We report this data to organizations that benchmark our data against others nationally. At Southeast Health we believe that transparent public reporting accelerates quality outcomes. Once we have mastered any given quality indicator, we begin working on new indicators because we want to continually get better for our patients. This information is updated periodically throughout the year and can be found at the websites listed below:

Hospital Compare

Hospital Compare has information about the quality of care at over 4,000 Medicare certified hospitals across the country. You can use Hospital Compare to find hospitals and compare the quality of their care. The information on Hospital Compare helps you make decisions about where you get your health care. Compare hospitals by clicking here.

The Leapfrog Group

To provide the safest, high-quality care, hospitals must have appropriate policies and technology in place to manage and reduce errors. From the right expertise in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), to a computerized system for entering prescriptions, to hospital-wide policies designed to protect patients—these are the areas that have the biggest impact on patient outcomes. Compare hospitals by clicking here.

Hospital Safety Score

The Hospital Safety Score uses national performance measures from the Leapfrog Hospital Survey, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and the American Hospital Association’s Annual Survey and Health Information Technology Supplement. Taken together, those performance measures produce a single score representing a hospital’s overall performance in keeping patients safe from preventable harm and medical errors. The Hospital Safety Score includes 30 measures, all currently in use by national measurement and reporting programs. Compare hospitals by clicking here.

Our top priority is the health, safety and comfort of each and every patient. Our goal is nothing less than to deliver exceptional care with professional expertise and personal attention. Patients and families may express their satisfaction and concerns in a variety of ways.

At Southeast Health, these include:

  • Mention any concerns or complaint to a staff member, nurse or nurse supervisor immediately so that the matter can be resolved to your satisfaction.
  • If your concerns are still not resolved, patients are encouraged to contact the Patient Speak Up Line at 334-793-8720.
  • The individual also has the right to contact one or more of the following agencies:
  • The Alabama Department of Public Health by calling 1-800-356-9596 or by mail at P.O. Box 30317, Montgomery, AL 36310.
  • DNV GL Healthcare by calling 1-866-496-9647, or by clicking here.

Southeast Health’s mission is to promote healing, prevent disease, educate medicine’s brightest minds, and bring wellness and prosperity to the region. We believe high quality healthcare should be available to everyone who needs it regardless of race, ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation, disability, religion, or other factors. Learn more about our efforts to improve the quality of care we provide and create health equity here.

Nurses make up the largest group of team members employed at Southeast Health. We have 845 Registered Nurses (RNs), 131 Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) and 237 unlicensed assistive personnel (i.e., Patient Care Assistants, Nurse Techs). There are 441 RNs with associate degrees, 304 with bachelor’s degrees, 27 with master’s degrees, and 73 Advance Practice Providers. There are also 237 RNs who have a nationally recognized certification in addition to their licensure.

Nursing leaders make every effort to ensure optimal staffing for patient care. In that effort, nursing leaders benchmark quarterly with a nationally recognized nursing database and peer hospitals to set and/or adjust staffing goals. Nurse-to-patient ratios are based on the acuity of illness of the patient as determined by the patient classification system, as well as nursing judgment. The ratios vary from 1 nurse to 1 patient in the critical care setting to 1 nurse to 7-8 patients on night shift on units with stable patients preparing to transition home.

There is an ongoing effort by nursing leaders to assess and analyze staffing needs. Staffing targets are adjusted when changing needs are identified.