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10/28/2009
Providing quality health care for individuals in central Kentucky is a top priority for Ephraim McDowell Health. Quality health care is also a priority issue for President Barack Obama, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
Because quality health care is such an important issue, CMS launched Quality Initiatives in 2001 to assure quality health care for all Americans through accountability and public disclosure. Individuals may go to the CMS website (www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov) to see how any hospital in the nation is performing on what is known as Core Measures, which includes the treatment and management of heart attack, heart failure, community-acquired pneumonia and the reduction of surgical infections.
In July, Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center met or exceeded goal on each of those four Core Measures.
“We are very pleased with our quality scores for July,” said Clark Taylor, chief executive officer of Ephraim McDowell Health. “These scores consistently place us in the top in the nation for these Core Measures, and that translates to our staff providing the best care to our patients.”
The Core Measures that are scored on the CMS website show how often hospitals give recommended treatments known to get the best results for patients with certain medical conditions or surgical procedures. The information is based on patients’ records and converted into a percentage.
The Core Measures include seven measures related to heart attack care, four measures related to heart failure care, seven measures related to pneumonia care, seven measures related to surgical care improvement project and three measures related to asthma care for children only. The measures are based on scientific evidence about treatments that are known to get the best results.
The data reflected on the CMS website is updated quarterly, generally in March, June, September and December although there can be a lag time between the data entered and the most current scores. Because of that possible lag time, Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center is now posting more current scores on its website (www.emrmc.org). The Regional Medical Center’s website also includes patient testimonials.
“We are committed to providing the best care to every patient, every time,” Taylor noted. “We want to be one of the best performing hospitals in Kentucky and the nation in delivering the quality of care our patients demand and expect. Our scores reflect that commitment to providing evidence-based best practices.”
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