2005 Texas Health Care Quality Improvement Award
GSMC News – GOOD SHEPHERD RECEIVES TEXAS HEALTH CARE QUALITY IMPROVEMENT AWARD
Good Shepherd has received the Texas Health Care Quality Improvement Award of Excellence from TMF Health Quality Institute (TMF), the Medicare quality improvement organization for Texas. TMF established the award program in partnership with Texas Hospital Association, Texas Medical Association, Texas Organization of Rural and Community Hospitals and Texas Osteopathic Medical Association.
The Texas Health Care Quality Improvement Award recognizes hospitals for improving from their initial baseline performance on specific national quality measures.
Out of 203 entries, only 25 Texas hospitals met the criteria of the highest award, the Award of Excellence. Hospitals receiving the award were recognized at a special ceremony in Austin on November 3.
The Texas Health Care Quality Improvement Award honors Texas hospitals that are performing quality initiatives aimed at improving outcomes in patient care. The award acknowledges hospitals for exceptional quality improvement in one or more of the following clinical areas: acute myocardial infarction (heart attack), heart failure, pneumonia or surgical infection prevention. These clinical areas have been designated as national health care priorities by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.
“To earn this award, Good Shepherd had to initiate a quality improvement program with an interdisciplinary team, collect and submit data over four quarters and show significant improvement on all of the quality measures within the two clinical areas, acute myocardial infarction (heart attack) and heart failure care. It was a significant amount of work,” said Ruby Brewer, Director of Care Management, “but well worth it because it was the right thing to do for our patients.”
“We’re delighted to recognize the hard work and dedication to quality these teams demonstrate. Quality improvement is not about data; it’s about people. Each quality measure that is implemented 100 percent of the time reflects people receiving the right care at the right time, every time. Clearly these high performing hospitals understand this,” said William Gamel, MD, CEO of TMF Health Quality Institute and head of the Texas Health Care Quality Improvement Award committee.
“Working with the medical staff, Good Shepherd used nationally recognized standards to assure that consistent medical care for all patients is delivered routinely. We’re focused on following these national standards because they improve outcomes for our patients,” said Jerry D. Adair, Good Shepherd Health System President and CEO. “We’re proud to have qualified to receive this distinguished award, and we will continue to enhance our quality improvement efforts.”
To earn the Award of Excellence, a hospital had to achieve or maintain performance between 90 and 100 percent on all national quality measures within one or more of the targeted clinical areas.