News
Beebe Medical Center Patient Relations Director Receives National Award
03/18/10
Ellen Tolbert, Director of Patient Relations and Case Management for Beebe Medical Center, has been recognized by the Society for Healthcare Consumer Advocacy for her patient advocacy work at both the local and the national level.
The Society will honor Mrs. Tolbert by presenting her with the prestigious Ruth Ravich Award during the annual conference in Pittsburgh in April. Ruth Ravich was the founder and first president of the Society, and was committed to improving healthcare services and communication between patients and their healthcare providers. The Society is affiliated with the American Hospital Association.
Your peers recognize you as an individual whose work supports the vision of the Society for Healthcare Consumer Advocacy -- to bring patients' needs to the center of healthcare, organization President-Elect Carol Waldemayer wrote in a letter to Mrs. Tolbert.
While the Society was founded in 1991, the role of a patient representative was born in the 1960s to follow up on patient complaints regarding service and delivery of care in healthcare institutions such as hospitals and nursing homes. The role has expanded over the decades to become a key component in quality assessment and improvement of care.
Mrs. Tolbert, who has a master's degree in social work, joined Beebe Medical Center in 1998 as a case manager and as its first patient advocate, though in a part-time capacity. She went on to design and develop Beebe Medical Center's Patient Relations Department. Today she oversees a team that includes another full-time patient advocate, a Spanish interpreter -- the first full-time Spanish interpreter in a Delaware hospital, and a chaplain. Mrs. Tolbert also oversees the patient satisfaction survey process, compliance related to federal and state patient rights and advocacy regulations, and employee recognition and reward programs. Mrs. Tolbert is integrally involved in process improvement and quality efforts at Beebe Medical Center.
Her work has not stopped in Lewes. Mrs. Tolbert also has been actively involved at the national level. She served on the Board of Directors for the Society for Healthcare Consumer Advocacy for five years, including as President and President-Elect. She has spoken to healthcare professionals across the nation on Medicare regulations and managing and responding to patient grievances, and co-authored the 2009 edition of the Society's manual In the Name of The Patient.
We are pleased but not surprised to learn that Ellen has received this well-deserved recognition, says Jeffrey M. Fried, President and CEO of Beebe Medical Center. Her commitment and dedication has made a difference not only at Beebe Medical Center but throughout the nation. She is a true advocate for the patient, and works hard to open the doors of communication between patients and their caregivers and healthcare providers. She also has worked with our leadership team at Beebe Medical Center to continually work on improving the service and the quality of care that we offer the diverse communities that we serve.
Beebe Medical Center is a not-for-profit community medical center with a charitable mission to encourage healthy living, prevent illness, and restore optimal health with the people residing, working, or visiting in the communities we serve. For more information, please visit us online at www.beebemed.org
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