Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center Recognized for safe, quality patient care by national and state organizations
The year 2014 was marked with accolades and honors for Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center. Over the past 12 months, the Russellvillebased acute care facility was recognized as a leader among Arkansas and U.S. hospitals — regardless of size or prominence — in the areas of safety, quality care and improved performance. Saint Mary’s was honored with four key distinctions and awards that reflect the hospital’s drive to providing exceptional, technologically advanced care to every patient. “Saint Mary’s is proud to be recognized among the safest hospitals in Arkansas and the nation,” said Mike McCoy, Saint Mary’s Interim Chief Executive Officer. “These awards were achieved through ongoing process improvement and a strong culture of teamwork and caring. There is no doubt that our team of dedicated health care professionals is committed to improving patient outcomes and it is this commitment that makes Saint Mary’s the patients’ choice for health care in our region. I am extremely proud of our employees and our medical staff for their dedication and commitment to providing the best care for our patients. This recognition is because of their hard work and dedication and they are to be congratulated. Our patients and their families can be assured they will receive the highest standard of safe, quality care at Saint Mary’s, delivered with courtesy and compassion.”
Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center recognized for Outstanding Record in Patient Safety – Awarded an “A”in Fall 2014 Hospital Safety Score Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center was honored with an ‘A’ grade in the Fall 2014 Hospital Safety Score,which rates how well hospitals protect patients from errors, injuries and infections. The hospital is one of only two hospitals in the state to be recognized with an ‘A’ during this measurement period and has received the award every year since 2012. The Hospital Safety Score is compiled under the guidance of the nation’s leading experts on patient safety and is administered by The Leapfrog Group (Leapfrog), an independent industry watchdog. The first and only hospital safety rating to be peer-reviewed in the Journal of Patient Safety, the Score is free to the public and designed to give consumers information they can use to protect themselves and their families when facing a hospital stay. Tim Copeland, Chief Quality Officer, said “We are very pleased that our ongoing efforts in the area of patient safety have again earned our hospital an ‘A’ ranking. Physicians, nurses, pharmacists, engineering, environmental services… it takes an entire team, aligned and focused on delivering the highest quality care to every patient, every time. We are proud of the quality care we provide and honored to receive this well-earned, national recognition from The Leapfrog Group because of the high standards they uphold.” Saint Mary’s Chief Nursing Officer Pat Torrico explained, “We are proud of the exceptional care we provide our patients. Our nurses and clinicians follow evidence-based,
best practices and strive to deliver safe, compassionate care to every patient. This honor means a great deal to our staff and the patients we serve. We are very happy to be recognized for our high performance.” Developed under the guidance of Leapfrog’s Blue Ribbon Expert Panel, the Hospital Safety Score uses 28 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to produce a single “A,” “B,” “C,” “D” or “F” score representing a hospital’s overall capacity to keep patients safe from preventable harm. More than 2,500 U.S. general hospitals were assigned scores in fall 2014, with about 31 percent receiving an “A” grade. The Hospital Safety Score is fully transparent, with a full analysis of the data and methodology used in determining grades available online. “Patient safety needs to be a 24 -7 priority for hospitals, as errors and infections are all too common and often deadly,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group, which administers the Hospital Safety Score. “We commend the ‘A’ hospitals, including Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center for helping us to raise the standards of health care nationwide, and demonstrating that they’ve made the well-being of patients a top priority.”
Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center earns ‘Top Performer on Key Quality Measures®’ recognition from The Joint Commission Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center has been recognized as a Top Performer on Key Quality Measures® by The Joint Commission, the leading accreditor of health care organizations in the United States. Saint Mary’s was recognized as part of The Joint Commission’s 2014 annual report “America’s Hospitals: Improving Quality and Safety,” for attaining and sustaining excellence in accountability measure performance for: • Heart Attack • Pneumonia • Surgical Care Saint Mary’s is one of 1,224 hospitals in the United States to achieve the Top Performer distinction. The Top Performer program recognizes hospitals for improving performance
on evidence-based interventions that increase the chances of healthy outcomes for patients with certain conditions, including heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia, surgical care, children’s asthma, stroke, venous thromboembolism and perinatal care, as well as for inpatient psychiatric services and immunizations. Top Performer hospitals had to meet three performance criteria based on accountability measure data, including: Achieving cumulative performance of 95 percent or above across all reported accountability measures; Achieving performance of 95 percent or above on each and every reported accountability measure where there were at least 30 denominator cases; and Having at least one core measure set that had a composite rate of 95 percent or above, and (within that measure set) all applicable individual accountability measures had a performance rate of 95 percent or above. “Delivering the right treatment in the right way at the right time is a cornerstone of high-quality health care. I commend the efforts of Saint Mary’s for their excellent performance on the use of evidence-based interventions,” said Mark R. Chassin, M.D., FACP, M.P.P., M.P.H., president and CEO, The Joint Commission. “We understand what matters most to patients at Saint Mary’s is the quality and safety of the care they receive. That is why we have made it a top priority to improve positive patient outcomes through evidencebased care processes,” said Mike McCoy, Saint Mary’s Interim CEO. “It is truly an honor to be named a Top Performer as it recognizes the knowledge, teamwork and dedication of our entire hospital staff.”
Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center wins Quality Award; Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care recognizes Excellence in Health Care Saint Mary’s has earned a Hospital CAUTI Reduction Award in the Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care’s (AFMC) annual Quality Awards program. The Quality Awards recognize improvement in indi-
vidual health care organizations’ performance in AFMC’s quality improvement projects. The Hospital CAUTI Reduction Award recognizes hospitals that have committed to focus efforts in the reduction of catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI). At the statewide meeting in July, Saint Mary’s Chief Quality Officer Tim Copeland and Infection Control Nurse, Monica Baxter, RN, were asked to present a case study regarding how Saint Mary’s reduced urinary tract infections and how the hospital sustained that improvement. For over 40 years, through utilization review, quality improvement projects and public education, the Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care has worked to improve the health of Arkansans. AFMC congratulates Saint Mary’s on its commitment to high-quality health care for the citizens of Arkansas.
Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center recognized for work in statewide HEN collaborative to Improving Care to Save Lives Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center has been a participating member of the Hospital Engagement Network (HEN) through the Arkansas Hospital Association. As one of 45 hospitals who have participated over the past 3 years in the AHA/HRET HEN to reduce hospital acquired conditions by 40 percent and readmissions by 20 percent, Saint Mary’s has contributed to an estimated reduction of 2,144 events and a savings of $10,887,934 across the state through this HEN. The Health Engagement Network initiative is focused on: • Reducing hospital acquired Adverse Drug Events • Central Line Associated Blood Stream Infections • Catheter Associated Urinary Tract Infections • Falls • Early Elective Deliveries • Obstetric Harm • Pressure Ulcers • Readmissions • Venous Thromboembolism (Blood Clots) • Ventilator Associated Conditions • Surgical Site Infections
Saint Mary’s is one of 28 Hospitals recognized for meeting the goals set by CMS in 80 percent of the topics which impacts its patients. “This demonstrates Saint Mary’s full commitment to quality care and to providing the safest environment for our patients to receive that care,” said Mike McCoy, Saint Mary’s Interim CEO. The AHA/HRET HEN is one of 26 HENs as part of the Partnership for Patients created under the Affordable Care Act. As part of this work, Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center, as well as approximately 3700 hospitals across the country has been exposed to a wealth of knowledge, resources and tools. It has created a nationwide infrastructure for health care improvement and for achieving the national goals of Better Health, Improved Healthcare and Lower Costs. “Arkansas hospitals have embraced this work and have shown the importance of providing high quality, safe care. We could not have seen these great results without the commitment of those hospitals who care for patients in their communities,” commented Bo Ryall, President of the Arkansas Hospital Association. Saint Mary’s is also one of only six hospitals in the state and one of 233 hospitals in the nation to meet the national improvement goals and meet reduction goals on 90 percent or more of their applicable topics on national or state aligned measures.
About Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center is a 170-bed acute care hospital. With a medical staff of more than 111 active physicians in 18 specialties, Saint Mary’s offers a wide range of quality health care services to residents of west central Arkansas, including cardiac catheterization, surgery, diagnostic radiology, cancer treatment, rehabilitation therapy, women’s and children’s services, adult behavioral health and 24-hour emergency services. Saint Mary’s employs over 900 healthcare professional who are dedicated to providing quality care to the people of the River Valley Region and beyond. For more information, visit www. SaintMarysRegional.com