Blog

Patient Experience Week spotlight: Vickie Barrett

During Patient Experience Week (April 23-29), we’re spotlighting patient experience coordinator Vickie Barrett. Barrett started at Hillcrest in 2013, working as a senior care coordinator before her role evolved to focus on patient experience. Her work takes her all over the hospital, helping connect patients and families to services and providers throughout the Hillcrest HealthCare System. Barrett said her focus is, “facilitating clear and compassionate communication.”

Barrett works as an effective third party when patients don’t want to speak with their provider, health team or... Read More »

Doctors' Day profile: Rachael Pattison, D.O.

(March 30 is National Doctors' Day. Hillcrest Medical Center (HMC) would like to thank our physicians for the dedication and passion they show for their patients. In honor of National Doctors' Day, we are spotlighting Rachael Pattison, D.O., who specializes in pulmonary and critical care medicine.)

While growing up on a horse and cattle ranch in Holdenville, Oklahoma, Rachael Pattison, D.O. dreamed of becoming a horse trainer. Over time, that dream transitioned to becoming a physician, with encouragement from her family and several role models in her life.

"My hometown... Read More »

Hillcrest Medical Center earns AHA GoldPlus Get With The Guidelines® – Stroke quality achievement award

Hillcrest Medical Center received the American Heart Association’s GoldPlus Get With The Guidelines® - Stroke quality achievement award. This award is for Hillcrest’s commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines.  

Andre Fredieu, M.D. is medical director of the Oklahoma Stroke and Neurological Institute at Hillcrest Medical Center. He says this award is a culmination of many years of work. 

“We’ve been at the very top of accreditation for our comprehensive stroke program for years,” said Dr. Fredieu. “... Read More »

Hillcrest Medical Center designated Top Teaching Hospital by Leapfrog

Hillcrest Medical Center has been named among the 2022 Top Hospitals by The Leapfrog Group, an independent national watchdog organization. Hillcrest Medical Center received designation as a top teaching hospital and is the only hospital in Oklahoma to receive this award.

Top hospitals are identified using data from the watchdog organization's annual hospital survey, with selection based on excellence across staffing, hand hygiene, infection rates, surgery outcomes, maternity care, error prevention and other quality standards.

Additionally, top teaching hospitals had to... Read More »

Hillcrest Medical Center NICU staff organize Valentine's Day photoshoot for babies

Valentine's Day is extra sweet this year in the Hillcrest Medical Center Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Parents of several NICU babies received special Valentine's Day cards today featuring their newborns. The cards also include their foot prints shaped like hearts and a message that says, "I love you from the bottom of my heart to the tips of my toes!"

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This is a tradition for the Hillcrest Medical Center NICU, where staff members organize special photo shoots for most major holidays. Our nurses work to get the babies dressed, posed and photographed and spend... Read More »

Avoiding scald burns around the house

Feb. 5 – 11, 2023 is burn awareness week, and this year, providers are bringing special attention to scald burns. According to the American Burn Association, only 14% of non-fire thermal burns involving ranges or ovens were due to fire or flame. The rest were due to hot liquids, objects or surfaces.  

Kara Hall, RN, nurse manager at the Alexander Burn Center, gives some advice for anyone who experiences a scald burn and how to avoid them in your home. 

Common scald burns

“A scald burn usually occurs with a hot liquid or gas, and patients who get scald burns are usually... Read More »

Hillcrest Medical Center's NICU flight program takes off

Hillcrest Medical Center is now one of just three Oklahoma hospitals that can receive infant patients who need critical care in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) by helicopter. The program, in partnership with Tulsa Life Flight, launched on Dec. 27, 2022. The first NICU patient was brought to the hospital by helicopter on Dec. 30, 2022.  

When they receive a call, a flight nurse and a respiratory therapist grab about 300 pounds of gear and load everything into the waiting helicopter. They fly to their patient’s location and bring the baby back to the Hillcrest NICU.  

“... Read More »

Hillcrest Medical Center earns "A" grade from Leapfrog Group for fall 2022

For the second time in 2022, the Leapfrog Group recognized Hillcrest Medical Center as a top-performing hospital in patient safety across the country. HMC received an “A” Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade for fall 2022, the nation’s most prestigious honor for patient safety. The hospital also received an “A” for spring 2022. 

The Leapfrog Group, an independent national watchdog organization, assigns “A” through “F” grades to hospitals across the country based on over 30 national performance measures reflecting errors, injuries, accidents and infections, as well as harm-prevention... Read More »