Oregon Hospitals Receive Patient Safety Alliance Achievement Awards

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Portland — Acumentra Health and Northwest Physicians Insurance Company are pleased to announce the winners of the Patient Safety Alliance (PSA) Achievement Awards for patient care delivered in Oregon hospitals during 2007. The two organizations are cosponsors of the PSA collaborative, a multi-year quality and process-change initiative that engaged 19 Oregon hospitals in improving inpatient medical and surgical care, and teaching each other how they did it.

The Patient Safety Alliance award program recognizes hospitals for achieving high standards of medical and surgical patient care, demonstrated by meeting measures of care established by the National Quality Foundation and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. These measures are based on research to identify care practices that improve patient outcomes and reduce potential harm.

Two levels of awards are presented: Excellent (> 90% of eligible patients received all appropriate care) and Outstanding (> 95% of eligible patients received all appropriate care).

Medical Care Awards

These awards recognize hospitals in which nearly all patients with one of three common medical conditions received care that met all appropriate care measures for their condition:
• 5 measures for patients with acute myocardial infarction (heart attack)
• 2 measures for patients with heart failure
• 3 measures for patients with pneumonia

Outstanding Inpatient Medical Care Awards

• Legacy Emanuel Hospital & Health Center
• Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center
• Mid-Columbia Medical Center
• Rogue Valley Medical Center

Inpatient Medical Care Excellence Awards

• Adventist Medical Center
• Kaiser Sunnyside Medical Center
• Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital & Medical Center
• Legacy Meridian Park Hospital
• OHSU Hospital
• Providence St. Vincent Medical Center
• Salem Hospital
• Sky Lakes Medical Center
• St. Charles Medical Center–Bend
• St. Charles Medical Center–Redmond

Surgical Care Awards

These awards recognize hospitals in which nearly all patients undergoing surgery received care that met three care measures related to use of antibiotics for prevention of post-surgical infections.

Outstanding Inpatient Surgical Care Awards

• Salem Hospital

Inpatient Surgical Care Excellence Awards

• Mid-Columbia Medical Center
• Providence St. Vincent Medical Center

“As Oregon’s Quality Improvement Organization for Medicare, Acumentra Health applauds these hospitals for their commitment and their hard work in following through with real process change,� said Ruth Medak, MD, FACP, Associate Medical Director for Acumentra Health. “They and their peers have generously shared their successes and pitfalls with each other, bringing opportunities for all hospitals to implement practices that lead to the best results for the patient.�
The awards were presented during the annual PSA conference, Achieving Safety and Excellence in the Inpatient Setting, held May 7, 2008, at Oregon Convention Center.

Acumentra Health is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality and effectiveness of health care. Established in 1984, Acumentra Health’s work spans the continuum of care, reaching all ages and economic levels, and all delivery settings. Acumentra Health contracts with Oregon and Washington to provide External Quality Review of managed care health services provided to Medicaid enrollees, as well as with Medicare to support effective, evidence-based health care for Medicare beneficiaries as Oregon’s Medicare Quality Improvement Organization.  Acumentra Health also oversees the state’s Medicare Beneficiary Protection Program, responding to quality concerns and appeals of service termination notices. In addition, Acumentra Health contracts with state agencies, public health organizations and coalitions, health plans, hospitals, physicians and others to conduct healthcare quality assurance and quality improvement projects. As a leader in healthcare quality, Acumentra Health provides expertise in areas such as performance measurement and improvement, surveys, utilization management, healthcare data analysis, chronic disease management, peer review, and electronic health records. For more information, visit www.acumentra.org. 

Northwest Physicians Insurance Company, a subsidiary of The Doctors Company, provides professional liability coverage for more than 2,500 physicians in Oregon and Idaho.  The company is well respected for its many patient safety initiatives, particularly in the areas of obstetrics, critical communication skills, and continuous process improvement. Having built its reputation on service to the physician community, NPIC recognizes that the delivery of high-quality care is the most important facet of the professional liability equation. 

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