As the result of a combined effort between Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine and the West Shore Osteopathic Association in the latter 1970s, the Westshore area in 1981 became home to a new community hospital known as St. John West Shore Hospital. In 1999, St. John West Shore Hospital formed a partnership with University Hospitals Health System and today is owned jointly by University Hospitals Health Care System and the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine Health Care System. Over the past two decades, St. John West Shore Hospital has steadily grown into one of Northeast Ohio's most respected healthcare providers consistently demonstrating superior quality outcomes and exceeding patient expectation across a broad spectrum of healthcare specialties. During a recent visit at St. John West Shore Hospital, we listened as Hospital President Keith Poisson and Director of Marketing and Public Relations Patrick Garmone described this crown jewel of a region known for unsurpassed medical care;
St. John West Shore Hospital is a 248-bed community hospital nestled on more than 68 acres in Cleveland's western suburbs. We serve a full range of emergency, cardiac, and orthopedic needs, in addition to supporting a strong base of primary care physicians and offering a broad range of general/surgical care. We offer extensive physical and occupational rehabilitation programs and operate a renal dialysis network with three sites in the Cleveland area. Being committed to the highest quality standards, St. John West Shore Hospital is home to the Cleveland Endovascular Institute and The Heart Center at St. John West Shore Hospital.
Always growing and adding new services, St. John West Shore Hospital kicked off 2004 with a multi-million dollar overhaul of our emergency department including not only additional space, but also the addition of cutting edge technologies and equipment designed to enhance and expedite patient care. We're currently improving our emergency services by working toward a new certification that will designate us as a Level III trauma center that will enable us to treat a greater variety and severity of injuries. We've recently expanded our horizons geographically with the opening of the Westshore Primary Care Health and Wellness Center in Avon, OH. Opened in late 2004, this new facility will enable us to better service the Avon and Avon Lake areas.
St. John West Shore Hospital was recently named a recipient of Health Grades' 2005 Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence, a designation that places St. John West Shore Hospital among the top 5% of hospitals throughout the nation that have met Health Grades' rigorous standards. Our cardiac services have also been recognized by Health Grades and rated among the best in the country.
We provide approximately $3.8 million in community outreach services, charity, and uncompensated care each year. We sponsor the annual Festival of the Arts fine arts and crafts show which draws more than 50,000 community members to the Hospital campus, a children's safety fair known as Play It Safe, and we serve as a major sponsor of the city's Celebrate Westlake annual community walk and run in support of area charities.
In an effort to assist low income, uninsured individuals, St. John West Shore Hospital encourages its employees, medical staff, and volunteers to donate some of their own time to help provide medical care at either North Coast Health Ministry or the Lorain County Free Clinic. In turn, the St. John West Shore Hospital will make a monetary contribution, in the volunteer's name, of $20.00 for every hour worked. Through this collaborative initiative, we work to improve the health of the Westshore community by continuing the healing ministry of Jesus to those less fortunate.
It's a great time to rediscover St. John West Shore Hospital. Visit St. John West Shore Hospital's campus today and don't forget to tell them that The Advocate sent you!
