Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center in Danville has been 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.
McDowell was recognized for exemplary performance in using evidence-based clinical processes that are shown to improve care for heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia and surgical care.
McDowell is among 620 hospitals in the United States earning the distinction of Top Performer on Key Quality Measures for attaining and sustaining excellence in measurable performance. The list of Top Performers represents 18 percent of more than 3,400 eligible accredited hospitals nationwide.
Other hospitals in Kentucky recognized for the same level of excellence as McDowell include Central Baptist Hospital in Lexington; Greenview Regional Hospital in Bowling Green; and St. Elizabeth Medical Center in both Florence and Fort Thomas. Thirteen other Kentucky hospitals were named Top Performers in at least one area of care.
The ratings are based on an aggregation of accountability measures reported to The Joint Commission during the 2011 calendar year. Each accountability measure represents an evidence-based practice that has been determined to provide the best outcomes and the highest level of patient care. The program was launched in September 2011, according to The Joint Commission’s website.
“This honor is a testament to our organization’s commitment to providing safe, effective care to our patients,” said Vicki A. Darnell, president and chief executive officer of Ephraim McDowell Health. “That’s why we have made a commitment to accreditation and to positive patient outcomes through evidence-based care. I congratulate our associates, volunteers and the medical staff for the excellent work they do every day to help us be one of the best hospitals in the nation.”
“When we raise the bar and provide the proper guidance and tools, hospitals have responded with excellent results,” said Dr. Mark R. Chassin, president of 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.”
With McDowell being a nationally-acclaimed hospital, patients are assured that excellent care is not determined by the most well-known hospitals or those located in the biggest cities, the hospital stated in its news release.
“Our patients deserve the best, and we work hard every day to ensure they get the best,” Darnell said.
