Glades General Hospital, Palm Beach County’s only public hospital, is a 73- bed acute-care facility located in the heart of a large agricultural belt on the southern shores of Lake Okeechobee. Glades General, which serves a population of about 40,000 people, is the only acute-care facility in a 40-mile radius. The hospital provides a 24-hour physician staffed emergency room with access to the Trauma Hawk air ambulances and both in-patient and out-patient services, including Obstetrics, General Surgery, Radiology, Physical Therapy, Respiratory Therapy, Cardiac Rehabilitation, Social Services, and Wellness Programs. The dedicated staff at Glades General use the latest medical technologies, such as a 16-slice CT scanner, a Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS), a state-of-the-art electronic patient documentation system, and wireless technology in the Obstetrics Unit. Leveraging this technology, Glades General became the first hospital in Palm Beach County to implement the Electronic Birth Registry (EBR) system, which automates and accelerates the process of registering births, reducing the costs and processing time. The staff at Glades General can gather the patient data, print out the report, and get the required electronic signatures – all at the bedside, within minutes.
Committed to remaining technologically advanced, Glades General is also preparing to roll out a medication reconciliation reporting system so that doctors and nurses know a patient’s medication history at the time of admission.
With just over 300 employees, GGH is one of the largest employers in the Glades. The hospital, as part of the Health Care District of Palm Beach County, is committed not only to its patients, but also to its employees. The hospital supports continuing education for its medical staff through programs such as tuition reimbursement to ensure the residents of Lake Okeechobee are receiving quality health care.
Glades General is accredited by the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO).