Third year hospital has been recognized

SHELBY – (August 26, 2009) Cleveland Regional Medical Center has been cited as a top performer in the Hospital Quality Incentive Demonstration (HQID) project. HQID is a joint project by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and Premier, Inc., a world leader in data management and developing evidence-based clinical quality measures.

Based on results from CRMC’s fourth year of participating in the HQID, Cleveland Regional Medical Center received three awards for Top Performance in the clinical areas of Heart Failure, Acute Myocardial Infarction, and Hip and Knee Replacement. Results on these “core measures” placed CRMC in the top deciles in each of these areas, compared with the 2,200 U.S. hospitals and 58,000-plus other healthcare sites in Premier’s database.

“This is the third consecutive year CRMC has been recognized in the HQID project,” said Dotty Leatherwood, VP Community Relations. “This recognition explains why CRMC has been visited by one of the largest healthcare systems in England, as well as by numerous other hospitals that are affiliated with Carolinas HealthCare System. Hospital administrators and medical personnel have been coming to Shelby on a regular basis to see firsthand the specific process improvements made during the project. It’s also why the Institute for Health Improvement has awarded ‘Mentor’ status to CRMC.”

CRMC joined this voluntary project four years ago. “Being a part of HQID gives us access to an extraordinary database of quality information we use to benchmark our own results against the best in the country,” said Brian Gwyn, President and CEO. “We have used that information as a catalyst to help us think outside of the box regarding how to creatively improve our patient care processes. We volunteered for this program because we knew our patients would benefit from our ability to be the best.”

In each of the three award areas, CRMC has worked to find ways to develop best practices that benefit patients. One such example is in the area of hip and knee replacement. One of the best practice processes was to provide an antibiotic within one hour prior to surgery. The staff in Anesthesia took on this challenge and consistently assures that patients receive every element of care needed to assure positive outcomes. “Providing quality patient care has always been our primary mission and it’s a commitment we continue to take very seriously,” said Michael Goler, MD, Chief Medical Officer.

Although there have been financial awards based on the number of patients served over the past four years, CRMC received its highest award in 2009 for its performance in year four, a total of $87,431. “The monetary incentive was not what led CRMC to volunteer for this project. Opportunities to benchmark with Premier’s database was the driving force behind this decision,” said Liz Popwell, VP and Chief Ancillary Officer. “Finding ways to improve our clinical service to our patients is the real benefit to being a part of this project.”

“The successes of the hospitals – small and large, urban and rural, teaching and non-teaching – in the HQID project have led to its consideration as the basis for key national health reforms,” said Susan DeVore, Premier president and CEO. “As the proposal of a national value-based purchasing program becomes a reality, hospitals participating in HQID will have six years experience with such a model.”

The HQID is the first national project of its kind, designed to determine if economic incentives to hospitals are effective at improving the quality of inpatient care. Through the project, which has been extended by CMS for an additional three years, Premier collects a set of more than 30 evidence-based clinical quality measures from almost 250 hospitals across the country. The quality measures were developed by government and private organizations (for more information on the indicators, visit: www.qualitydemo.com).

HQID tracks process and outcome measures in five clinical areas – acute myocardial infarction (AMI), heart failure, coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), pneumonia, and hip and knee replacement. Cleveland Regional Medical Center provides services in each area with the exception of coronary artery bypass grafts.

Premier Inc. has been a partner with Cleveland Regional Medical Center since the 1970s. Premier’s purchasing network, management engineering services and clinical, financial and outcomes information have assisted CRMC through the years prior to joining CHS and now CHS has joined with Premier to benefit from their outcomes information.

The HQID project is scheduled to continue for two more years. Pride in the quality outcomes from this project is clear. “Results like these awards are a testament to the dedication of our physicians and staff to constantly improving the care we deliver to every patient, every day,” Gwyn said.