| A hospital is an institution for health care providing | | | | hospital is typically the major health care facility in |
| patient treatment by specialized staff and | | | | its region, with large numbers of beds for |
| equipment, and often but not always providing for | | | | intensive care and long-term care, facilities for |
| longer-term patient stays. | | | | surgery and childbirth, bio assay laboratories, and |
| | | | | so forth. Larger cities may have many different |
| A hospital is an institution for health care providing | | | | hospitals of varying sizes and facilities. One plum |
| patient treatment by specialized staff and | | | | wall says it all: Hospital services are separate and |
| equipment, and often but not always providing for | | | | distinct from boarding and grooming services-yet |
| longer-term patient stays. A hospital today is a | | | | both are easily accessible to pet owners and |
| center for professional health care provided by | | | | team members. |
| physicians and nurses. During the Middle Ages it | | | | During a candid conversation with his architect, Dr. |
| could serve other functions, such as almshouse | | | | David Gordon, medical director of VCA Arroyo |
| for the poor, or hostel for pilgrims. The name | | | | Animal Hospital (formerly Arroyo Pet Care |
| comes from Latin hospes (host), which is also the | | | | Center) in Lake Forest, Calif., mentioned he'd like |
| root for the words hotel and hospitality. | | | | to distinctly separate the hospital and medical |
| Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs), also known as | | | | functions and the boarding and grooming functions. |
| health-care-associated infections, encompass | | | | Yet his idea of using a scalpel handle and blade on |
| almost all clinically evident infections that do not | | | | the outside of the building to depict that |
| originate from a patient's original admitting | | | | separation didn't quite seem appropriate. Some |
| diagnosis. | | | | patients just come just for diagnosis and/or |
| Within hours after admission, a patient's flora | | | | therapy and then leave (outpatients), others stay |
| begins to acquire characteristics of the | | | | the nights (inpatients). Putting the patient first is a |
| surrounding bacterial pool. Most infections that | | | | challenge that requires not just a huge change in |
| become clinically evident after 48 hours of | | | | the mindset of all the stakeholders in health care |
| hospitalization are considered hospital-acquired. | | | | provision, but also the means by which to |
| Infections that occur after the patient's discharge | | | | measure the levels of satisfaction of patients, and |
| from the hospital can be considered to have a | | | | to discover what matters to them before, during |
| nonsocial origin if the organisms were acquired | | | | and after their visit to any hospital. Patient quality |
| during the hospital stay. Today, hospitals are | | | | initiatives, with their softer, experiential focus than |
| usually funded by the state, health organizations | | | | clinical audit, with its precise and scientific methods |
| (for profit or non-profit), health insurances or | | | | of measurement, demand different measurement |
| charities, including direct charitable donations. In | | | | techniques. |
| history, however, they were often founded and | | | | Often, the most effective means is to adapt |
| funded by religious orders or charitable individuals | | | | from the survey techniques widely practiced in |
| and leaders. | | | | social research and market research by using |
| Similarly, modern-day hospitals are largely staffed | | | | surveys and objective self-completion questioning |
| by professional physicians, surgeons and nurses, | | | | techniques. Yet, without careful management, the |
| whereas in history, this work was usually done by | | | | measurement teams can drown in a sea of |
| the founding religious orders or by volunteers. | | | | questionnaires. Surveys are labor intensive, so it |
| There are several kinds of hospital. The | | | | makes sense to use software developed to |
| best-known is the general hospital, which is set up | | | | handle surveys in this context too, and make the |
| to deal with many kinds of disease and injury, and | | | | process into something that can be managed by |
| typically has an emergency ward to deal with | | | | the small teams usually given this responsibility |
| immediate threats to health and the capacity to | | | | within the hospital. |
| dispatch emergency medical services. A general | | | | |