FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Rod Gardner
Publication Specialist
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Today’s Date: May 27, 2009

AFMC presents St. Joseph’s Mercy with three quality improvement awards

     HOT SPRINGS, AR. – The Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care (AFMC) presented St. Joseph’s Mercy Health Center with three quality improvement awards at its 16th annual Quality Conference Awards Dinner Tuesday night in the Hot Springs Convention Center’s Horner Hall.

    St. Joseph’s Mercy, one of just three hospitals throughout the state to be presented with a trio of awards, won a first-place Most Improved Award, second-place Best Achievement Award and an Innovator Award.

     “The best achievement and most improved awards are related to implementation of the core measures, and are perfect examples of “it takes a village” to really make changes happen and then sustain them,” said Anita Gottlieb, Executive Director of Quality Management at St. Joseph’s Mercy. “We have worked very hard at St. Joseph’s Mercy to increase compliance with evidence-based core measures set forth by The Joint Commission, and we are pleased with the results.”

     This spring’s Best Achievement Award went to the hospital with the highest appropriate core measures from October 2007 to September 2008. Meanwhile, the Most Improved Award went to the hospital with the highest reduction in failure rates of appropriate core measures for April through September of 2007 compared to April through September of 2008.

     The Innovator Award is given to hospitals that demonstrate improved patient outcomes or processes by documenting innovative and successful patient safety projects that they have implemented across settings in their communities. St. Joseph’s Mercy was recently involved in the development and implementation of “Hands Across Hot Springs,” a community-wide educational project that on Tuesday, May 5 helped kick off the World Health Organization’s world-wide “5 Moments for Hand Hygiene” campaign.

     “Infection Preventionist Trish Gould and Clinical Outcomes Coordinator Lynn Pellegrino have led the efforts to support quality of care and clinical safety through workshops on hand hygiene in schools, day care and senior centers across Garland County,” Gottlieb said. “They were also responsible for our involvement with the World Health Organization in a ‘Hands Across Hot Springs’ day to promote awareness of the importance of hand washing.

     “St. Joseph’s Mercy was also recognized by the World Health Organization as the only hospital in the United States to participate in the Tuesday, May 5 kickoff of its world-wide ‘5 Moments for Hand Hygiene’ campaign.”

     A member of the Sisters of Mercy Health System, St. Joseph’s is a not-for-profit Catholic healthcare organization. For more information on the three large-company Gold Awards and Ambassador Award St. Joseph’s Mercy has received at Arkansas Governor’s Work-Life Balance Awards ceremonies over the last four years, as well as services and employment opportunities presently being offered, please visit www.saintjosephs.com.

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