A Week In Business – March 13, 2020

Atlantic General Earns Top 100 Rating Award

BERLIN – Atlantic General Hospital announced it has been named a 2020 Top 100 Rural & Community Hospital by The Chartis Center for Rural Health.

This annual award honoring rural hospital performance is determined by the results of iVantage Health Analytics’ Hospital Strength INDEX®. Hospitals recognized as a Top 100 facility had one of the 100 highest overall scores among all rural and community hospitals throughout the nation.

“This award is based upon the quality of care, patient experience receiving care, and keeping costs for care low in our community. This doesn’t happen by accident,” said Atlantic General Hospital President and CEO Michael Franklin. “Atlantic General is committed to ensuring our community has the best healthcare available.”

Based entirely on publicly available data, the INDEX is the industry’s most comprehensive and objective assessment of rural hospital performance. Utilizing 50 independent indicators, the INDEX assesses performance across eight pillars of performance that span market-, value- and finance-based categories. It’s used by organizations such as the National Rural Health Association for their advocacy and legislative outreach efforts.

“The Top 100 Rural & Community Hospital award program reminds us that rural providers haven’t lost touch with their mission and are committed to delivering better quality, better outcomes and better patient satisfaction. It’s a pleasure to be able to not only recognize this year’s recipients, but our larger group of top 100 alumni as we celebrate 10 years of The Hospital Strength INDEX,” said Michael Topchik, National Leader, The Chartis Center for Rural Health.

x

Favorable Preparedness Assessment For Airport

SALISBURY — The Salisbury-Ocean City-Wicomico Regional Airport passed a recently-completed emergency plan assessment.

In 2017, new airport management along with the Wicomico County Emergency Services Team, recognized the valuable disaster relief asset of the regional airport. As a result, discussions began with MEMA and FEMA regional officials and a plan for assessment was developed.

In 2019, MEMA applied for funding to conduct a Support Mission Assessment across Maryland. As part of this assessment the team examined Salisbury-Ocean City Wicomico Regional Airport airport’s infrastructure and capability to support the following disaster response air operations.

The assessment included general population air evacuation, air reception, logistics staging area, aeromedical staging, and air search and rescue.  The culmination of this technical assistance is a concept to utilize the airport during a catastrophic event. The assessment for Salisbury-Ocean City-Wicomico Regional Airport took place in October 2019 with favorable results.

“We are pleased to be recognized as capable to support our Delmarva community in the event of any major disaster,” said County Executive Bob Culver. “We are a ‘community’ as well as a regional airport.  We serve the public for not only transportation needs, but also disaster preparedness for the entire Delmarva peninsula.”