St. Elizabeth Florence, Ft. Thomas earn recognition from The Joint Commission

St. Elizabeth Florence and St. Elizabeth Ft. Thomas have been named among the nation’s Top Performers on Key Quality Measures™ by The Joint Commission, the leading accreditor of healthcare organizations in America. Both hospitals were recognized for exemplary performance in using evidence-based clinical processes that are shown to improve care for certain conditions, including heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia, surgical care, children’s asthma, stroke and venous thrombo embolism, as well as inpatient psychiatric services.

St. Elizabeth Florence and St. Elizabeth Ft. Thomas are two of 620 hospitals in the U.S. earning the distinction of Top Performer on Key Quality Measures™ for attaining and sustaining excellence in the following measure sets: heart attack, 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.

Each of the hospitals named met two 95 percent 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 accountability measures for which it reports data to The Joint Commission. Second, each hospital met or exceeded 95 percent performance on every accountability measure for which it reports data to The Joint Commission.

A 95 percent score means a hospital provided an evidence-based practice 95 times out of 100 opportunities to provide the practice. Each accountability measure represents an evidence-based practice. For example, giving aspirin at arrival for heart attack patients, giving antibiotics one hour before surgery, and providing a home management plan for children with asthma.
“When we raise the bar and provide the proper guidance and tools, hospitals have responded with excellent results,” says Mark Chasin, M.D., FACP, M.P.P, M.P.H., 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.”

“We understand that what matters most to patients at St. Elizabeth is safe, effective care. That’s why we have made a commitment to accreditation and to positive patient outcomes through evidence-based care processes,” says Chris Carle, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at St. Elizabeth Florence.

“Our associates and physicians are at the forefront of our success. They are the reason why we have such a strong reputation for service and patient care,” adds Tom Saalfeld, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at St. Elizabeth Ft. Thomas. “We are especially proud to be named to the list of The Joint Commission’s Top Performers on Key Quality Measures.”

In addition to being included in today’s release of The Joint Commission’s “Improving America’s Hospital’s” annual report, St. Elizabeth Florence and St. Elizabeth Ft. Thomas will be recognized on The Joint Commission’s Quality Check website (www.qualitycheck.org). The Top Performer program will be featured in the October issue of The Joint Commission Perspectives and The Joint Commission: The Source.