In CEO Trent Lind’s words, “At Eastside, our goal is to be the best place to receive care, the best place to practice medicine, and the best place to work.” Just ask those most affected.
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“It starts and ends around the patient experience, “says Lind, “Every day when we walk into the hospital, we want to better the care and service we’re offering the community.”
“As a member of the Board of Trustees, I have witnessed a metamorphosis of Eastside Medical Center’s commitment to the community from a regional perspective. An improvement to services has been a primary emphasis for Eastside. By offering improved access through the use of technology advancements and Urgent Care Centers, Eastside Medical is laser-focused on service to the community.”
Jim Brooks
Member, Eastside Medical Center
Board of Trustees, and Executive Director, Evermore Community Improvement District
The Best Place to Receive Care
For patients today, navigating healthcare decisions can be overwhelming, and the team at Eastside aims not only to educate their community on where to go for care, but to make it convenient to access that care. Providing increased access to care has been a top priority for Eastside in recent years. Two years ago, Eastside opened a supplemental 11-bed ER three miles from the main campus and now averages 40 emergency visits a day there. Ten to 15 percent of those patients ultimately need in-hospital treatment.
“We connect patients with our system of care so if there’s something broader going on, we can serve them in our network so they don’t have to navigate the healthcare world on their own,” says Lind.
Additionally, Eastside has opened four Eastside Urgent Care locations in Gwinnett over the last two years to fill the gap in care for urgent medical situations that aren’t necessarily emergencies — decreasing wait times in the emergency room and giving patients quality care with the same access to the Eastside network of specialists. Having cared for 50,000+ patients since first opening, Eastside Urgent Care is now the largest urgent care network in Gwinnett.
Eastside has also expanded access in neighboring Walton County with the ongoing development of their Loganville Health Park, a comprehensive healthcare destination that will offer specialty care in obstetrics, cardiology and neurosurgery, in addition to imaging services with the latest cardiac imaging and 3D mammography. Eastside was the first healthcare provider to bring 3D Mammography to Walton County, one of the many advanced technologies they now offer to better equip their physicians to provide the highest level of care to patients.
The Best Place to Practice Medicine
Eastside proudly opens their doors with a medical staff of over 500 physicians. To deliver the best patient care to “every patient, every time,” Eastside has made it a priority to also acquire and embrace top-of-the line technology. Eastside’s new technological advances in imaging and robotics have put the latest tools in the skilled hands of their physicians, turning once-traumatic surgeries into minimally invasive procedures, allowing for quicker and less painful patient recovery, and an enhanced surgical experience.
The Best Place to Work
For the team at Eastside Medical Center, creating an exceptional patient experience starts with treating their patients, and each other, like family.
Over the last year or so, Eastside recognized a need to create a louder voice for their employees, allowing staff across all departments and locations to play an integral role in big-picture decisions alongside senior leadership. Eastside’s Employee Advisory Group (EAG) does just this. The EAG empowers staff to take pride and ownership, ensure safety and trust, and to better the workplace environment and ultimately, the patient experience.
One small example that earned a big reaction? The EAG spearheaded the change to healthier, tastier food in the hospital’s cafeteria.
By giving their physicians and employees a voice and fostering an environment of inclusion, the entire team at Eastside is able to better understand the patient experience through the eyes of the doctors and nurses on the frontlines each day and make real-time improvements.
A Heart for Their Community
An ethos instilled within the Eastside team is the importance of community and being a good neighbor.
“Even though we’re expanding and growing, we’re still a community hospital, so we want to be involved and engaged with our community,” says Lind.
“Even though we’re expanding and growing, we’re still a community hospital, so we want to be involved and engaged with our community,” says Lind.
Through community outreach, Eastside staff provide education to the local neighborhood about services offered right in their own backyard, including hosting an event allowing community members to tinker with the latest robotic equipment and to “see what the surgeon sees.”
Not a quarter goes by without Eastside raising thousands of dollars for local charities – from cancer research to supporting healthy moms and babies to donations to their local food bank.
Eastside doesn’t forget their own either, circling back to cultivate a workplace that treats staff like family with programs like the HCA Hope Fund, which provides financial support to families throughout the HCA network of hospitals when unexpected needs arise.
At the end of the day, Eastside is in the business of people — they “work for their patients.”
As Eastside approaches its 40th anniversary next year, the future is bright for its patients and everyone who cares for them. Expanded access, a heart for their community, technological advancement, and employees who are listened to and cared for – all key actions to make Eastside the best place to receive care, the best place to practice medicine, and the best place to work.
