Hospitals must stand at the forefront of innovation, armed with cutting-edge tools and technologies to address critical illnesses. Saint Mary’s Health Network exemplifies this commitment to excellence in healthcare.
Situated within the esteemed Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center, it boasts a distinguished Center for Cancer, recognized for its excellence in oncological care. A multidisciplinary approach, facilitated by expert panels, ensures thorough reviews of patient cases.
At the forefront of Saint Mary’s Health Network is Derrick Glum, the dedicated CEO with a relentless commitment to delivering unparalleled patient care and advancing the enduring healthcare legacy of the hospital network.
Our recent interview with Derrick provides a captivating insight into the organization and its groundbreaking contributions to the field of cancer care.
Brief us about the hospital. How is it contributing to the existing needs of cancer care? What solution is it bringing to the table?
Saint Mary’s was founded in 1908 and has since developed into one of the leading health systems in Nevada proudly serving patients with exceptional quality and compassion. As a long-standing community partner with a 115-year history, Saint Mary’s Health Network offers Northern Nevada inpatient, outpatient, ancillary, and wellness services. Nationally recognized and accredited by the Joint Commission, as well as named one of the Top 100 Hospitals by Fortune/Merative and America’s Best 250 hospitals by Healthgrades, Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center is a 380-bed acute care hospital offering a robust line of inpatient, outpatient and ancillary services including a top-rated Center for Cancer, surgical and orthopedic services, and an award-winning Cardiology program and more. The health system, a member of Prime Healthcare, also operates a fully integrated Medical Group, multiple urgent care clinics, freestanding imaging, lab, and primary care offices.
How was the hospital founded and what is its mission?
Founded in 1908 and proudly celebrating its 115th year serving the Northern Nevada community, Saint Mary’s Health Network has a mission to deliver compassionate, quality care to patients and better healthcare for communities.
What role does technology play in facilitating the innovation of medical devices at the organization?
Providing high-quality healthcare is an imperative goal within our hospital. Part of this is innovation and technology, as we aim to bring the best technology possible to our community to assist in their healing journey.
What specific endeavors is your hospital leading at present related to cancer treatment?
Our Oncology team offers multiple treatment options, including Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy which uses high-energy, computer-controlled X-rays to deliver precise doses of radiation to malignant tumors. Additionally, we operate a Linear Accelerator, which is a machine used to deliver external beam radiation by producing photons that can be precisely targeted to treat tumors while sparing healthy tissue. Furthermore, the Saint Mary’s Center for Cancer has a Varian TrueBeam, a highly sophisticated surgical robot that delivers radiation therapy with extraordinary detail and precision to treat tumors, and a CyberKnife – which is an advanced technology that delivers a specialized form of radiation therapy called stereotactic radiosurgery, or stereotactic body radiation therapy. It is comprised of a compact linear accelerator, a machine that generates a radiation beam, attached to a highly maneuverable robotic arm. The CyberKnife features a device that controls the width of the radiation beams the machine delivers during treatment, allowing our clinical experts to vary the beam size and treat a larger variety of tumors throughout the body.
What advice would you like to give budding medical enthusiasts who want to engage in the healthcare sector?
I would recommend spending some time in a hospital or clinic as a volunteer. Allow some time to understand some of the operational models that exist in today’s healthcare environment. Speak to individuals responsible for the daily work in a healthcare setting and understand their challenges and goals. Then you can take the needed steps for education or training to consider a career in the many healthcare career paths that exist today.
How do you envision scaling the hospital’s services in 2024 and beyond?
While we grow and develop our hospital and health network to address local community needs, we will never waiver from our commitment to every patient we have the privilege of treating – we aim to provide our very best care and service in a sincere effort to promote healing and wellness.
Please share a few patient testimonials and awards or recognition that accurately highlight your hospital’s position in the industry.
Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center was recently named by Newsweek as the best hospital in the state of Nevada as it received the 2024 America’s Best-in-State Hospital Award. Hospitals from every U.S. state were eligible for the 2024 ranking, which was an independently performed study. Newsweek calculated scores for each hospital by weighing recommendations from both in-state and out-of state peers, patient experience data, hospital quality metrics from CMS and The Joint Commission, and analysis of patient-reported outcome measures (PROM) implementation. Those on the list, such as Mayo Clinic, Mount Sinai, Cleveland Clinic, and Saint Mary’s, represent the leading hospitals across the United States and are positioned as the best site for care in their respective state according to the methodology used.
Saint Mary’s also recently received a number of clinical excellence awards from Healthgrades, including five-star ratings for cardiac pacemaker procedures, hip fracture treatment, spinal fusion surgery, treatment of pneumonia, carotid surgery, gallbladder removal, and treatment for respiratory failure. Saint Mary’s has been recognized year over year among the top hospitals in the nation for clinical excellence and quality, recently becoming the only hospital in Nevada to receive Fortune/PINC AI’s™ 100 Top Hospitals award for four consecutive years. Lastly, the hospital just received an “A” Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group, a national non-profit upholding the standard of patient safety in hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers. This national distinction is the fifteenth “A” in a row that Saint Mary’s has received, and it celebrates Saint Mary’s achievements in prioritizing patient safety by protecting patients from preventable harm and errors. Since 2016, Saint Mary’s has continuously received an “A” grade from The Leapfrog Group, the longest active streak of any hospital in Northern Nevada.
Below links will take you through the exciting developments at Saint Mary’s Health Network:
