SHEFFIELD –Helen Keller Hospital was named one of the nation’s Top Performers on Key Quality Measures by The Joint Commission, the leading accreditor of health care organizations in America. Helen Keller Hospital is one of only 620 U.S. hospitals and critical access hospitals earning the distinction of Top Performer on Key Quality Measures for attaining and sustaining excellence in accountability measure performance.
Helen Keller Hospital was recognized by The Joint Commission based on data reported about evidence-based clinical processes that are shown to improve care for certain conditions, including heart failure, pneumonia, and surgical care. The ratings are based on an aggregation of accountability measure data reported to The Joint Commission during the 2011 calendar year. The list of Top Performers increased by 50 percent from its debut last year and represents 18 percent of more than 3,400 eligible accredited hospitals reporting data.
This is the second year in a row that Helen Keller Hospital is being recognized as a Top Performer. Helen Keller Hospital is one of only 244 hospitals that achieved the distinction two years in a row.
Each of the hospitals that were named as a Top Performer on Key Quality Measures met two 95 percent (95/95) performance thresholds on 2011 accountability measure data. First, each hospital achieved performance of 95 percent or above on a single, composite score that includes all the accountability measures for which it reports data to The Joint Commission, including measures that had fewer than 30 eligible cases or patients. Second, each hospital met or exceeded 95 percent performance on every accountability measure for which it reports data to The Joint Commission, excluding any measures with fewer than 30 eligible cases or patients. A 95 percent score means a hospital provided an evidence-based practice 95 times out of 100 opportunities to provide the practice.
“When we raise the bar and provide the proper guidance and tools, hospitals have responded with excellent results,” says Mark R. Chassin, M.D., FACP, M.P.P., M.P.H., president, The Joint Commission. “This capacity for continual improvement points toward a future in which quality and safety defects are dramatically reduced and high reliability is sought and achieved with regularity. Such day-to-day progress will slowly but surely transform today’s health care system into one that achieves unprecedented performance outcomes for the benefit of the patients.”
“We understand that what matters most to patients at Helen Keller Hospital is safe, effective care. That’s why Helen Keller Hospital has made a commitment to accreditation and to positive patient outcomes through evidence-based care processes,” said Doug Arnold, Helen Keller Hospital CEO. “Helen Keller Hospital is proud to be named to the list of The Joint Commission’s Top Performers on Key Quality Measures. This recognition reflects our employees’ dedication to providing an excellent healthcare experience. As one of only 19 hospitals in the state of Alabama to receive the recognition, our commitment to providing quality patient care to our community is evident,” Arnold added.
In addition to being included in today’s release of The Joint Commission’s “Improving America’s Hospitals” annual report, Helen Keller Hospital will be recognized on The Joint Commission’s Quality Check website (www.qualitycheck.org). The Top Performer program will be featured in the October issues of The Joint Commission Perspectives and The Joint Commission: The Source.
