We’ve sharpened our focus on measuring how well employees are engaged in their work. Because patients are at the heart of everything we do, fostering a culture of engagement will help us provide our patients with the best quality care.

“One of the key drivers of employee engagement is the knowledge and belief that patients are cared for in a safe environment,” said Greg Hollingshead, UF Health Shands Human Resources Development director.

“Many of our quality and safety indicators are on the rise, showing that we are becoming an even safer environment for patients and staff.”

The UF Health Shands Employee Engagement Survey will roll out from March 23 to April 13. All UF Health Shands staff members and UF staff in integrated core service departments are encouraged to complete the survey.

Here are some organizational achievements in quality care since the last survey:

• UF Health Shands earned an even higher four-star rating (out of five) from the University HealthSystem Consortium, marking our advances in quality, patient safety and accountability. We are well on our way to achieving five stars! We ranked ninth overall among academic health systems for reducing patient harm, according to the UHC.
• UF Health Shands Hospital was again ranked among the nation’s best hospitals in 10 medical specialties by U.S. News & World Report.
• The UF Health Shands Chest Pain E.R. received full accreditation from the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care.
• UF Health Shands Hospital received an “A” Hospital Safety Score from The Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit group that works to reduce preventable medical errors.
• UF Health Shands Hospital was designated as a Blue Distinction Center in transplant care by Florida Blue, as part of a national program of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.
• The UF Health Shands Comprehensive Stroke Center earned national comprehensive stroke center certification from The Joint Commission.