OCHSNER IS A ‘TOP PERFORMER ON KEY QUALITY MEASURES’
Collaboration of clinical teams leads to top performance on quality of care measures
SLIDELL – Ochsner Medical Center – North Shore today 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. The hospital was recognized based on data reported about evidence-based clinical processes that are shown to improve care for certain conditions, including heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia, surgical care and children’s asthma.
Ochsner Medical Center – North Shore is one of only 405 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 data reported to The Joint Commission during the previous calendar year. For example, this first recognition program is based on data that were reported for 2010.
“This recognition is based on actual objective quality measures, and is a direct result of our strategy and daily execution by our clinical team,” stated Polly Davenport, Ochsner Medical Center – North Shore CEO. “We’re proud of this honor not only because it reflects our commitment and dedication to excellence in patient care, but also because it was executed successfully while in the middle of transitioning to the Ochsner Health System. It makes me very proud that the staff continues to place patient care first.”
To be recognized as a top performer on key quality measures, an organization must meet two 95 percent performance thresholds. First, they must achieve a composite performance of 95 percent or above after the results of all the accountability measures for which they report data to The Joint Commission were factored into a single score, including measures that had less than 30 eligible cases or patients. Second, they must meet or exceed a 95 percent performance target for every single accountability measure for which they report data, excluding any measures with less than 30 eligible cases or patients.
Ochsner Medical Center – North Shore was recognized for achieving these thresholds for:
- Heart Attack
- Heart Failure
- Pneumonia
- Surgical Care
“In order to be patient-centered 24 hours a day, seven days a week, everyone on the team has to share in the same degree of accountability,” stated Cheryl Woods, RN, Chief Nursing Officer. “We have made a commitment to accreditation and positive patient outcomes through evidence-based care processes which, in turn, have led to lower patient re-admission rates.”
“This could only be successful through the daily coordination and teamwork between physicians, nurses, respiratory therapy and the entire clinical team,” said Dr. James Newcomb, Vice President of Medical Affairs. “It may sound like an easy task, but we’re talking about collaboration and commitment by day and night clinical teams to follow and excel at the measures identified for excellence in continued patient care―regardless of your shift time, title or job description.”
“Today, the public expects transparency in the reporting of performance at the hospitals where they receive care, and The Joint Commission is shining a light on the top performing hospitals such as Ochsner Medical Center – North Shore that has achieved excellence on a number of vital measures of quality of care,” says Mark R. Chassin, M.D., FACP, M.P.P., M.P.H., president The Joint Commission.
In addition to being included in today’s release of The Joint Commission’s “Improving America’s Hospitals” annual report, Ochsner Medical Center – North Shore will be recognized on The Joint Commission’s Quality Check website.
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Ochsner’s North Shore region includes health centers in Abita Springs, Covington, Hammond, Mandeville and Slidell, providing access to physicians in a range of specialties. Ochsner Medical Center – North Shore is a 165-bed, acute-care hospital in Slidell offering a range of inpatient and outpatient services. Ochsner North Shore is a part of Ochsner Health System, southeast Louisiana’s largest non-profit, academic, multi-specialty, healthcare delivery system. For more information, please visit www.ochsner.org and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
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