National recognition for heart care
Mercy Medical Center cited for superior care of heart failure patients
10 / 26 / 2006
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Maria Nelson, Media Relations
Affinity Health System
(920) 720-1752
(920) 554-0686 (pager)
OSHKOSH, Wis. – Mercy Medical Center has been named as a 2006 CareScience™ Select Practice National Quality Leader for its care of heart failure patients. As an award recipient, Mercy has shown that it provides superior care of heart failure patients.
Nearly 5 million people live with heart failure, and 550,000 people are diagnosed with the disease each year. Congestive heart failure involves the weakening of the pumping power of the heart.
CareScience Select Practice designations are determined by rigorous analysis of data collected by the Center for Medicare/Medicaid Services. Unlike other national hospital rankings, which rely heavily on financially-based measures, CareScience analysis uses only quantifiable data to determine excellence in clinical quality and efficiency. All acute care inpatient facilities in the United States with at least 50 cases of heart failure were eligible to receive this designation.
“To achieve this exclusive status, Mercy Medical Center demonstrated a combination of superior clinical outcomes and exceptional efficiency in treating heart failure patients when compared to other hospitals in the U.S.,” said Richard Bankowitz, vice president and medical director for CareScience. “We believe the CareScience Select Practice National Quality Leader award recipients represent the country’s very best health care facilities for patient care.”
“This honor reinforces our efforts to provide the best heart care to residents of Oshkosh and Winnebago County,” said Cliff Lehman, chief operating officer for Affinity Health System’s Southern Region. “Mercy is the only local hospital with three resident cardiologists on staff. Oshkosh-area residents can be confident the care they receive from the Mercy cardiology program is superior.”
Additional information on the CareScience Select Practice awards can be found at http://www.carescience.com/newsevents/selectpractice/index.cfm.
CareScience, a division of Quovadx, Inc., assists hospitals in translating organizational vision and goals into quality improvement plans that optimize patient outcomes and operational performance, increase staff efficiency and reduce costs. CareScience Select Practice awards are an indication of organizational focus on and achievement in improving the quality and efficiency of patient care. Quovadx and CareScience are trademarks of Quovadx, Inc. All other company and product names mentioned may be trademarks of the companies with which they are associated.
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For the Editor:
Affinity Health System, a faith-based regional health care network, is the Fox Valley’s second-largest employer, according to the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce & Industry. For the fourth consecutive year, Affinity has been named one of the nation’s top 64 health systems based on clinical performance according to Thomson Reuters, a leading provider of information and solutions to improve the cost and quality of health care. For ten consecutive years, Affinity Health System has been named to the SDI (formerly Verispan) Integrated Health Network Top 100, an annual assessment of the 100 most highly integrated health care networks in the nation. Both St. Elizabeth Hospital in Appleton and Mercy Medical Center in Oshkosh rank among the top 1 percent of hospitals nationwide in terms of quality and efficiency, as determined by the 2007 Premier | CareScience Select practice National Quality Award. Members of Affinity include Mercy Medical Center and Mercy Health Foundation, Oshkosh; St. Elizabeth Hospital and the St. Elizabeth Hospital Foundation, Appleton; Affinity Medical Group, a regional network of 25 family practice and specialty clinics – 22 of which are recognized as NCQA Level III medical homes, the highest level of recognition – in 14 communities; Calumet Medical Center, Chilton; and Affinity Occupational Health.