Inside Duke Medicine

Doug Vinsel highlights DRAH successes

Duke Raleigh Hospital CEO Doug Vinsel talks about the many successes and accomplishments at Duke Raleigh Hospital.

From evidence-based medicine to patient satisfaction to work culture, Duke Raleigh Hospital employees have put up impressive scores this year, said hospital CEO Doug Vinsel. The fact that all forms of performance are interrelated is evidenced through the combined efforts of the hospital team which has experienced overall positive financial performance in the 2009 fiscal year.

“You start with the work environment,” Vinsel said. “If you get that correct, there’s a positive ripple effect throughout the organization.” At Duke Raleigh, employee satisfaction scores have risen from about 50 percent
earlier this decade to 79 percent this year, the highest of any hospital in DUHS. Employee turnover has also decreased by almost a third since 2006, Vinsel said.

Duke Raleigh has additionally placed emphasis on pursing excellence in patient safety and clinical quality. The hospitals’ CMS evidence-based care metrics, which measure commitment to practices that promote the best and safest care, reached 85.11 percent, nearly 10 points higher than the fiscal-year target and more than 30 points higher than scores in 2006.

In February, the hospital received Magnet designation for nursing excellence from the American Nurses Credentialing Center—an important achievement because it made DUHS one of the few academic health
systems in the country to have all hospital units Magnet designated.

Duke Medicine Plaza, a five-story facility on the Duke Raleigh Hospital campus, has increased the availability of Duke faculty physicians to provide specialty services in Wake County. Specialties in Duke Medicine Plaza include otolaryngology, neurosurgery, neurology, cardiology, pulmonology, gastroenterology, ophthalmology, orthopaedics and children’s subspecialty services. In the last year, surgical volumes at Duke
Raleigh Hospital, especially in neurosurgery, otolaryngology and thoracic surgery, have increased significantly.

Duke Medicine has also opened new locations to benefit patients in other parts of Wake County, including Brier Creek, Creedmoor Road, Knightdale and Morrisville. Beyond the hospitals and clinics, the health system has shown a commitment to the broader Wake County community.

“We have much to be proud of over the past year,” said Vinsel. “However, we are confident that we will discover new ways to carry this momentum forward as we further develop Duke Medicine’s services to benefit Wake County’s patients.”