RICHMOND HEIGHTS, MO — For a second time, SSM St. Mary’s Health Center in Richmond Heights has been recognized by the Premier Healthcare Alliance for achieving quality scores in the top 1 percent of acute care facilities in the nation. The health center is one of 21 hospital winners of the 2010 United States Premier Award for Quality (AFQ) to be presented this week in Washington, D.C.
SSM St. Mary’s previously attained the award in 2008. The award recognizes health-care organizations that efficiently provide outstanding patient care and clinical excellence. The Premier Alliance is a partnership of more than 2,300 U.S. hospitals and 67,000 other health-care sites focused on improving health-care quality and affordability.
SSM St. Mary’s was among 3,788 hospitals eligible to receive the honor. All acute-care, inpatient facilities in the United States that submitted data to a federal agency ― the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ― were considered.
Using 2008 CMS data, quality and efficiency, indexes were calculated for 60 disease groups. SSM St. Mary’s was rated as a top performer, recording low levels in three adverse outcomes: mortality, morbidity and complications.
“This is a particularly special honor since essentially all of America’s acute-care hospitals, regardless of bed size or teaching status, are measured,” explains SSM St. Mary’s President William Jennings, who will accept the award on behalf of his 2,100 SSM St. Mary’s colleagues. “It’s an in-depth process for evaluating outcomes performance for 60 conditions that cover virtually all cases admitted to an acute-care facililty.”
Learn more about the Premier Quality Award at PremierInc.com/Breakthroughs2010.
About SSM St. Mary’s Health Center
SSM St. Mary's Health Center in June 2010 became one of only 21 hospitals in the United States to earn the prestigious Premier Award for Quality from the Premier Healthcare Alliance, which rigorously measures clinical outcomes. A two-time Premier Quality winner, SSM St. Mary's is a full-service, contemporary hospital with distinctive capabilities that feature high-risk obstetrical services and fetal surgery, state-of-the art heart surgery and chest pain center, advanced stroke care, and the latest imaging and outpatient services. SSM St. Mary's more than 2,100 employees and 800 physicians are devoted to achieving the best care and best results for our patients, while its convenient mid-St. Louis County location supports easy access.
For more information, contact:
Stacey Rynders
Communications Specialist
SSM St. Mary’s Health Center
314-768-8801 (office)
Stacey_L_Rynders@ssmhc.com