Network Health Plan cited by NCQA for member quality
06 / 14 / 2006
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Maria Nelson, Media Relations
Affinity Health System
(920) 720-1752
(920) 554-0686 (pager)
MENASHA, Wis. – Network Health Plan has earned a Quality Plus Distinction award by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). It is one of only two state health plans to receive this distinction.
Network Health Plan was cited for care management—specifically, how well Network Health Plan works with its members by providing health information and wellness services, as well as helping them manage their disease states, including:
- Affinity NurseDirect, a 24-hour health information telephone service that is staffed with registered nurses who answer medical questions and concerns from community residents.
- Health and wellness services that educate and empower members to take control of their health issues.
“In effect, we’ve been effective in creating partnerships between the patient, physician and ourselves to strengthen their care management, empowering patients to take an active role in their health and wellness issues,” says Sheila Jenkins, Network Health Plan president.
Quality Plus is a voluntary program for all NCQA-accredited organizations. Network Health Plan has been accredited with an “Excellent” status, the highest possible level. Additionally, NCQA and U.S. News & World Report earlier this year ranked Network Health Plan 16th among 257 rated health plans in the nation in terms of customer satisfaction and clinical performance.
“This voluntary program allows us to be a front-runner of health plans nationally,” Jenkins says. “We are able to survey on measures that will become the standard in future NCQA scoring.”
NCQA is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. NCQA accredits and certifies a wide range of health care organizations, and provides health care quality information free of charge through the Web and media in order to help consumers, employers and others make more informed health care choices.
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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.