Methodist Healthcare
October 30, 2013

Methodist Healthcare in San Antonio Earns
“Top Performer on Key Quality Measures® Recognition from
The Joint Commission

San Antonio, October 30, 2013 – Methodist Healthcare today was named a Top Performer on Key Quality Measures® by The Joint Commission, the leading accreditor of health care organizations in America. Methodist Hospital and its campuses at Methodist Children’s Hospital, Methodist Heart Hospital, Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital, Methodist Texsan Hospital, Metropolitan Methodist Hospital and Northeast Methodist Hospital* plus Methodist Stone Oak Hospital were recognized by The Joint Commission for exemplary performance in using evidence-based clinical processes. These measures have been shown to improve care for certain conditions including heart disease and surgical care.

“We understand that what matters most to patients at Methodist Healthcare is safe, effective care. That’s why Methodist Healthcare’s team of 8,000 employees and its staff of more than 2,700 credentialed physicians have made a commitment to accreditation and to positive patient outcomes through evidence-based care processes. We are honored to receive the distinction of being a Joint Commission Top Performer on Key Quality Measures,” said Jaime Wesolowski, President & CEO, Methodist Healthcare System.

Methodist Healthcare is among 1,099 hospitals in the U.S. earning the distinction of Top Performer on Key Quality Measures for attaining and sustaining excellence in accountability measure performance and the only hospital system in San Antonio to reach this quality standard. Methodist Healthcare was recognized for its achievement on the following measure sets: heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia and surgical care. In addition, Methodist Children’s Hospital was recognized for children’s asthma care. 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.

Methodist Healthcare and each of the hospitals nationwide that were named as a Top Performer on Key Quality Measures must: 1) achieve cumulative performance of 95 percent or above across all reported accountability measures; 2) achieve performance of 95 percent or above on each and every reported accountability measure where there are at least 30 denominator cases; and 3) 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. 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, and providing a home management plan of care for children with asthma.

            “Methodist Healthcare and all the Top Performer hospitals have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to quality improvement and they should be proud of their achievement,” says Mark R. Chassin, M.D., FACP, M.P.P., M.P.H., president and chief executive officer, The Joint Commission. “We have much to celebrate this year. Nearly half of our accredited hospitals have attained or nearly attained the Top Performer distinction. This truly shows that we are approaching a tipping point in hospital quality performance that will directly contribute to better health outcomes for patients.”    

      In addition to being included in today’s release of The Joint Commission’s “Improving America’s Hospitals” annual report, Methodist Healthcare will be recognized on The Joint Commission’s Quality Check website (www.qualitycheck.org). The Top Performer program will be featured in the December issues of The Joint Commission Perspectives and The Source.

 

*These hospitals share the same Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services provider number with Methodist Hospital and therefore are evaluated as a single entity by the Joint Commission; Methodist Stone Oak Hospital has its own provider number.

About Methodist Healthcare System – San Antonio

Methodist Healthcare System – San Antonio is the largest provider of health care in South and Central Texas with 26 facilities including nine hospitals serving 90,000 inpatients and 390,000 outpatients annually. The Methodist Healthcare team is comprised of 8,000 employees, making Methodist Healthcare the second largest private employer in San Antonio. In 2012, Methodist Healthcare was one of only two hospitals in Texas recognized by the Texas Medical Foundation with a Gold Award for Quality. Methodist Healthcare has won the National Research Foundation’s Consumer Choice Award for 13 consecutive years, more times than any other health care provider in Texas. For the past four years, Methodist Healthcare has received “Best Hospital” Gold Award by the San Antonio Express-News’ Readers’ Choice Awards. With more than 2,700 credentialed physicians, Methodist Healthcare provides the largest array of medical services in the region including neurosurgery, cardiovascular services, oncology and women’s services. Visit www.SAHealth.com to learn more.

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