Athens-Limestone Hospital works to “Be the difference” in the community by taking care of residents when they’re at some of their most vulnerable points in life.

“ALH continues to expand our services lines to accommodate community growth,” said Traci Collins, president of Athens-Limestone Hospital.

Looking back at 2023, the hospital has a lot of accomplishments to highlight. From staff and service expansions to high ratings from patients and surveying organizations to new equipment, the Limestone healthcare scene is expanding as the county does.

“We welcomed 13 additional providers in 2023 and continue to recruit new providers to Athens. In 2023, we added gastroenterology and mental health providers to our network,” Collins said.

Along with the 13 providers and their staff and expertise, ALH has also acquired new, state-of-the-art equipment.

They VELYS Orthopedic Robot can help surgeons perform surgeries such as knee replacements with higher precision and preservation of patients’ tissue and joint stability. Before treatments, ALH has also improved their imaging facilities with new echocardiogram equipment to assess patients’ hearth health and fluoroscopy imaging equipment to take real-time images of moving systems in the body, such as the gastrointestinal or cardiovascular systems.

A large concern for patients is if the hospital is going to take care of them well and in a timely fashion, and according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Athens-Limestone Hospital is among the top 30 percent of hospitals in the nation, joining 17.3 percent of hospitals in receiving an overall 4-star rating. The rating is based on the measure groups of mortality, safety, readmission, patient experience and timely and effective care, as explained at data.cms.gov/provider-date/topicshospitals/overall-hospital-quality-star-rating/.

Alongside the overall quality rating, the Center of Medicare and Medicaid awards a patient survey rating that data.cms.gov says, “includes questions about patients’ experiences with their preparation for the surgery or procedure, check-in processes, cleanliness of the facility, and communications with the facility staff.” ALH maintained its 4 star patient survey rating in 2023.

These 2023 achievements aren’t where ALH is going to stop, though. Based on the 2023 awards and recognitions, ALH has created a foundation of excellence to maintain and build upon. In 2024, it wants to exceed their previous quality and performance excellence measures, such as the Center of Medicare and Medicaid ratings listed above.

The hospital also wants to make progress on LEAN projects for patients throughput in surgery and registration, which means it wants to improve processes to help patients get registered for their procedures, through surgery and discharged in the most effective way for the patient and hospital.

Its third goal for 2024 is to achieve Blue Cross Distinction for Hip/Knee Replacement. According to a publication from Blue Cross Blue Shield on bcbs.com, “Blue Distinction Center for Knee and Hip Replacement recognize facilities that perform total knee and hip replacement surgeries – safely, effectively, and cost-efficiently.” The Blue Cross Blue Shield directory of providers, updated on Jan. 31, 2024, ALH is considered a Designated Blue Distinction Center+, which means that it “demonstrate(s) more affordable care in addition to quality care, treatment expertise and better overall patient results” in comparison to a Designated Blue Distinction Center, according to bcbs.com.

Athens-Limestone Hospital’s website says that its mission is to be the difference and its vision is “excellence always.” It has achieved four out of five stars in two categories of nationwide rating systems, and the county healthcare provider system has growth in mind, adding providers and tools to keep residents of the county healthy so they can live and play in Limestone County.