160 North Midland Avenue
Nyack, New York 10960-1998
(845) 348-2000 www.nyackhospital.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASECONTACT: Amy Massimo
Director, Public Affairs DATE: October 3, 2007 PHONE: 845-348-2773
NYACK HOSPITAL IMPLEMENTS CODE H HOTLINE
Nyack Hospital has joined a national trend in working towards partnering with patients and families in providing quality care. As the first affiliate participant in the NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System to embark on an initiative touted by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s 100,000 Lives Campaign, Nyack Hospital is moving forward to facilitate reduction of cardiac arrests and mortality rates.
Known as Code H (Help), this hotline number where patients and families can call to get medical attention was designed to improve patient care. By initiating Code H, patients and their loved ones receive immediate help from their response team in addressing their issues. Code H takes the concept of Rapid Response to a new level by increasing communication between the patient, family and healthcare team. While many hospitals have implemented Rapid Response Teams, Nyack Hospital is one of only approximately 20 hospitals in the country to expand the concept to this level.
According to Maureen A. Kirk, Chief Nursing Officer at Nyack Hospital, “Effective communication between the patients and families is the key to quality care. This partnership and the development of tools such as Code H to promote effective communication are critical to our patients’ receiving the highest level of care.”
Upon admission to Nyack Hospital, patients and families are instructed to access the hotline if any changes are observed in the patient, if the healthcare team is not recognizing a concern, or if concern persists after speaking with a member of the healthcare team.
Nyack Hospital is a 375-bed community acute care medical and surgical hospital located in Rockland County, NY. Founded in 1895, it is a member of the NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System.
