STRMC Slated to Receive Texas Health Care Quality Improvement Award
(Jourdanton, TX - July 29, 2009) - South Texas Regional Medical Center in Jourdanton is slated to receive the prestigious Texas Health Care Quality Improvement Award of Excellence from TMF® Health Quality Institute, the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization for Texas. TMF established the awards program in partnership with The Texas Hospital Association, Texas Medical Association, Texas Organization of Rural & Community Hospitals and Texas Osteopathic Medical Association.
Out of 227 participating Texas hospitals, only 27 met the criteria to garner the highest distinction, Texas Health Care Quality Improvement Award of Excellence. Additionally, 66 were presented with the Quality Improvement Achievement Award. South Texas Regional Medical Center’s quality accomplishments are well demonstrated by joining the elite 26 other hospitals. Hospitals receiving these awards will be recognized at a special ceremony in Austin on August 27.
Texas Health Care Quality Improvement Awards honorTexas hospitals that are performing quality initiatives aimed at improving outcomes in patient care by recognizing those hospitals that have improved their performance on specific national quality measures.
The awards acknowledge hospitals for improving care related to acute myocardial infarction or AMI (heart attack), heart failure, pneumonia and surgical care. These clinical areas have been designated as national health care priorities by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and The Joint Commission, an independent nonprofit, standards-setting and accrediting body in health care.
The awards recognize hospitals that are active in quality improvement and have made the required improvement on a composite scoring system, called the Appropriate Care Measure (ACM). For acute care hospitals, the ACM consists of 24 quality indicators: eight AMI, four heart failure, seven pneumonia and five surgical care measures. Critical access hospitals used an ACM score based on 11 quality indicators: four heart failure and seven pneumonia measures.
These CMS/Joint Commission priority areas were targeted because they measure care for common, serious health conditions that affect all adult patients. The quality measures—such as an initial antibiotic dose within four hours of admission for patients with pneumonia—are designed to ensure hospitals provide care consistent with current medical guidelines.
“To achieve this recognition, we had to demonstrate significant improvement across several national quality measures. Our success illustrates our commitment to patient safety and to delivering quality health care” said Jim Resendez, Interim CEO. “It was a significant amount of work, but well worth it because it was the right thing to do for our patients.”
“As a nonprofit consulting company focused on promoting quality health and health care, TMF is proud to recognize these hospitals for promoting quality improvement activities and their senior management for promoting a quality culture,” said Tom Manley, CEO of TMF Health Quality Institute. “Quality improvement is a complex and demanding process and we thank South Texas Regional Medical Center for their commitment to improving the health of Texans and the efficiency of health care in our state.”
“We know that using proven standards of care can save lives,” said Danielle Marie Flores, BBA, MBA, Director of Marketing. “We will continue to enhance our quality improvement efforts through our collaboration with partners and with TMF Health Quality Institute to ensure that every person gets the right care at the right time, every time.”
To earn the Award of Excellence, a hospital had to achieve or maintain performance between 90 and 100 percent on the Appropriate Care Measure and to have met all other awards requirements. These included passing validation of three quarters of data (quarters 1-3, 2008), having mortality scores within the projected range and submitting the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Survey (HCAHPS) data. (Data for mortality rates and HCAHPS are not available for critical access hospitals and, therefore, were not part of the awards criteria for these hospitals.)
For more information on the awards program, see the TMF Health Quality Institute awards Web site at http://award.tmfhqi.net.
South Texas Regional Medical Center, a full-service facility, operates 67 licensed beds in the Atascosa County. STRMC employs more than 350 professionals and contributed more than $18.2 million in salaries and benefits in 2008. For more information about South Texas Regional Medical Center’s service lines, physicians or specialties, please visit www.strmc.com.
About TMF
TMF Health Quality Institute is an Austin-based nonprofit consulting company focused on promoting quality health and health care through contracts with federal, state and local governments, as well as private organizations. TMF partners with health care providers in a variety of settings to ensure that every person receives the appropriate care, every time. www.tmf.org