Bragging Rights

VCU Medical Center celebrates top ranking

On a warm September afternoon, an enthusiastic crowd gathered for a celebratory toast at the Egyptian Building plaza in the heart of the MCV Campus of Virginia Commonwealth University.

Just a few months prior, U.S. News & World Report ranked the VCU Medical Center as the No. 1 hospital in Virginia in its 2012-13 Best Hospitals edition.

Amid those gathered in the afternoon’s crowd were proud administrators, physicians, clinicians, friends, grateful patients and volunteers. The glow of the prestigious honor would no doubt continue well into the evening.

If that weren’t cause enough for celebration, four of the medical center’s programs were cited for excellence. The nephrology, pulmonology, orthopaedic surgery and urology programs were all ranked in the edition’s top 50.

Further, the VCU Medical Center ranked as high performing in cancer; cardiology and heart surgery; diabetes and endocrinology; ear, nose and throat; gastroenterology; geriatrics; gynecology; neurology and neurosurgery; and rehabilitation medicine.

So, it seemed as good a time as any for VCU rector and chair of the MCV Foundation Board, John Doswell, to recall the words of baseball great Dizzy Dean, who, according to legend, is credited for the phrase, “It ain’t braggin’ if you can do it! And these folks can do it! It doesn’t get any better than this!”

VCU president Michael Rao, Ph.D., agreed.

“The ranking affirms what we knew and becomes a third-party testimonial to all of our colleagues who are serving patients in the hospital and clinics — we have the best leadership in the entire commonwealth,” he said. “Awards are nice things and I’m so glad to have the opportunity to celebrate, but they’re not the core of why we exist. They’re not the core of our mission. Our mission is about restoring and preserving health. It’s about the discovery of causes and cures for disease, about educating our healthcare workforce and about impacting and improving lives throughout the world.”

Rao cited the separation of conjoined twins Maria and Teresa Tapia of the Dominican Republic as perhaps the most recent testament to the expertise and quality of care found at VCU. “There are only a handful of places in the world where this complex procedure could possibly have taken place. I’m so proud of our team. We are No. 1, and I’m so glad that this has been reaffirmed.”

The Tapia twin surgery involved a team of 200 professionals, who worked over 20 hours to complete the separation. It’s this type of teamwork that, in the words of Alpha Fowler, M.D., chairman of the Division of Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care Medicine, makes the VCU Medical Center operate as “a finely integrated machine.”

“This recognition is significant and we all realize that it’s an honor,” Fowler said. “But our division works with the whole hospital, we’re not just off in one little area, so this award reflects the entire medical center. If there are weak links in the chain, it falls apart. You have to be ever vigilant to make sure that the links are strong. We’re a well-oiled machine.”

The theme of teamwork ran through all divisions that afternoon as chairs and directors commented on their prestigious honors. John Duval, CEO of MCV Hospitals, noted the significance of teamwork that is found throughout the VCU Medical Center. Both he and the Dean of Medicine, Jerry F. Strauss III, M.D., Ph.D., spoke of their gratitude for the thousands of professionals who work together every day on behalf of their patients.

“It’s great to be a part of a great team, and this recognition is reflective of the whole institution,” said Todd Gehr, M.D., chairman of the Division of Nephrology. “Having this honor reflects on everybody, not just the kidney doctors. It reflects the hospital care and the support of the hospital administration by allowing us the infrastructure to do our work. We spend a lot of time with our patients and we give great care.”

Great care and patient-focused teams are found throughout the VCU Medical Center.

“As the busiest orthopaedic hospital in the region, we’re at the forefront of providing the most appropriate and responsive treatment available,” said Robert Adelaar, M.D., chairman of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. “To be recognized as one of the most comprehensive and experienced programs in the country is a testament to our team approach and to our patient-centered commitment to excellence.”

For Lance Hampton, M.D., chairman of the Division of Urology, the honor represents a chance for the division to extend its reach beyond the Richmond area. “This is the beginning for us. The ranking shows that the changes we’ve made in the division are really paying off in terms of being able to get more patients in and perform more advanced procedures. It allows us to provide more state-of-the-art care for patients.

“Our team has embraced new technology and because of that, we’re able to offer our patients operations that we wouldn’t normally have been able to do a few years ago.”

In a generous show of support for the VCU Medical Center’s continuing legacy of excellence, Jo Ann Burton, president of the MCV Hospital Auxiliary of the VCU Health System, announced a $500,000 gift on behalf of the vibrant volunteer organization.

“This is a monumental thing for the Auxiliary to do,” Burton said. “Never in our wildest dreams did we have any idea we would be able to do something like this and we take great pride in being a small part of what makes the hospital as wonderful as it is.”

The U.S. News & World Report distinction is the newest addition to a growing list of accolades the VCU Medical Center has received, including Beacon Awards for nursing and clinical care in five intensive care units, Blue Distinction Centers for Specialty Care designations by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, the 2011 Magnet re-designation by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, a seventh recognition by Working Mother magazine as one of “100 Best Companies” and a number of local and national recognitions such as “top doctor” listings for many of faculty members.

Dizzy Dean would have no trouble bragging about that!