A hospital earns its reputation every day. Modern facilities, skilled caregivers, the latest technology and leading-edge procedures factor mightily into Backus Hospital's image. Backus employees work hard to earn your vote of confidence.

Patient safety and quality. Backus continues to rank at or above the state and national averages in publicly reported patient safety and quality measures. To maintain this focus on patient-centered care, Backus developed the Rapid Response Team — specially trained healthcare providers who can be at a patient's bedside at a moment's notice if a change in condition is noted. ... Pharmacists now work directly on patient floors, assisting staff and patients on properly dispensing medications — addressing the nationwide issue of enhancing medication safety. ... Patient Care Services launched a program to improve critical "hand-off communications" among and between caregivers. ... Your hospital invested more than $1 million in new patient beds that contain the latest safety features.

A commitment to employees. People are a hospital's greatest resource, and Backus offers competitive wages, benefits, daycare, employee referral programs, tuition reimbursement and more to make your hospital the employer of choice in the region. In the face of healthcare worker shortages, the hospital utilizes job fairs, graduate nursing programs, Nurse Camp and partnerships with local colleges and universities. And because we know healthcare is an emotionally intense profession, Backus began offering Schwartz Rounds — a forum for staff to speak freely about some of the emotional situations and complex cases they face. n Physician recruitment. Great strides have been made in the recruitment of a wide variety of primary care and specialty physicians, who offer services such as urology, breast reconstruction, wound care, joint replacements, and more.

Medical expertise and clinical trials. Your hospital has made headlines in the past year by offering a new disc replacement surgery in a clinical trial, defibrillator implants for cardiac patients and other needed procedures such as shoulder replacements.

Partnerships that benefit patients. Through a partnership with the Yale University School of Medicine, Yale physicians and other staff offer their expertise in pediatric cardiac care, radiation therapy, and life-saving procedures such as cardiac defibrillator implants.

The community is also proud of its hospital. People say so every day, whether it is a simple "thank you" to a caregiver or philanthropic support of the hospital's not-for-profit mission. As the donor lists in this report show, your hospital is committed to being faithful stewards of the community's goodwill and charity.