FOREST HILLS, N.Y., Oct. 30, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Forest Hills and Staten Island University hospitals today were named Top Performer on Key Quality Measures® by The Joint Commission http://www.jointcommission.org/, the leading accreditor of healthcare organizations in America. The hospitals, part of the North Shore-LIJ Health System, were recognized for exemplary performance in using evidence-based clinical processes that are shown to improve care for certain conditions.
The clinical processes focus on care for patients with heart attacks; pneumonia; stroke; venous thromboembolism; needing surgery; and children with asthma as well as inpatient psychiatric services. New this year is a category for immunization for pneumonia and influenza.
The hospitals were among 1,099 in the US earning the distinction for attaining and sustaining excellence in accountability measure performance. The ratings are based on an aggregation of accountability measure data reported to The Joint Commission during the 2012 calendar year. The list of Top Performer organizations increased by 77 percent from last year and it represents 33 percent of all Joint Commission-accredited hospitals reporting accountability measure performance data for 2012.
"We understand that what matters most to the patients of our community is safe, effective care. That's why we've made a commitment to putting in place evidence-based care processes that have proven effective in improving patient outcomes," said Rita Mercieca, RN, executive director.
All hospitals that were named as a Top Performer on Key Quality Measures must:
-- achieve cumulative performance of 95 percent or above across all reported accountability measures;
-- achieve performance of 95 percent or above on each and every reported accountability measure where there are at least 30 denominator cases;
-- and have at least one core measure set that has a composite rate of 95 percent or above, and within that measure set, all applicable individual accountability measures have a performance rate of 95 percent or above.
"Our clinical teams have gone above and beyond. The leading health care organization in America recognizes their ability and we applaud each and every member of our teams," said Anthony Ferreri, Regional Executive Director for the Western Region of North Shore-LIJ and SIUH's president and CEO.
A 95 percent score means a hospital provided an evidence-based practice 95 times out of 100 opportunities. Each accountability measure represents an evidence-based practice – examples include giving aspirin at arrival for heart attack patients, giving antibiotics one hour before surgery, or providing a home management plan of care for children with asthma.
"Forest Hills Hospital and all the Top Performer hospitals have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to quality improvement and they should be proud of their achievement," says Dr. Mark Chassin, president and chief executive officer of The Joint Commission.
In addition to being included in today's release of The Joint Commission's "Improving America's Hospitals" annual report, both will be recognized on The Joint Commission's Quality Check website. The Top Performer program will be featured in the December issues of The Joint Commission Perspectives and The Source.