Press release from Lutheran Health Network:
Five Lutheran Health Network hospitals achieve The Joint Commission’s Top Performer designation
St. Joseph Hospital makes its debut on annual TJC quality and safety report(November 17, 2015) – Five Lutheran Health Network hospitals today were named a Top Performer on Key Quality Measures® by The Joint Commission, the leading accreditor of healthcare organizations in the United States.
Bluffton Regional Medical Center, Dupont Hospital (Fort Wayne), Kosciusko Community Hospital (Warsaw), St. Joseph Hospital (Fort Wayne) and The Orthopedic Hospital of Lutheran Health Network (Fort Wayne) were all recognized by The Joint Commission for exemplary performance in using evidence-based interventions that increase the chances of healthy outcomes for patients with certain conditions. Those conditions include heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia, surgical care, children’s asthma, inpatient psychiatric services, stroke, venous thromboembolism, perinatal care, immunization, tobacco treatment and substance use.
Bluffton Regional, Dupont and The Orthopedic Hospital are three of only 117 hospitals nationally to achieve the Top Performer distinction in at least one key quality measure for all five years the program has been in existence. Kosciusko Community Hospital is one of only 435 hospitals nationally to earn recognition for the past three consecutive years. There are more than 3,300 Joint Commission-accredited hospitals.
“Sharing, adopting and adhering to best practices is a hallmark of our network,” said Brian Bauer, chief executive officer, Lutheran Health Network. “Whether it’s a hospital that’s been recognized multiple times, or a hospital like St. Joseph that’s making its first appearance in the Top Performer report, LHN associates and physicians never stop working to improve experiences and outcomes for their patients.”
Each recognized LHN facility met specific thresholds for these key quality measures:
- Bluffton Regional Medical Center – Pneumonia, Surgical Care and Immunization
- Dupont Hospital – Pneumonia, Surgical Care, Immunization and Perinatal Care
- Kosciusko Community Hospital – Heart Failure, Pneumonia, Surgical Care and Immunization
- St. Joseph Hospital – Heart Attack, Heart Failure, Pneumonia, Immunization and Surgical Care
- The Orthopedic Hospital – Surgical Care and Immunization
The LHN facilities that were recognized are five of only 1,043 U.S. hospitals earning the distinction of Top Performer for attaining and sustaining excellence in accountability measure performance during 2014. Top Performer organizations represent just 31.5 percent of all Joint Commission-accredited hospitals that reported accountability measure performance data last year.
“Delivering the right treatment in the right way at the right time is a cornerstone of high-quality health care. I commend the efforts of these Lutheran Health Network facilities for their excellent performance on the use of evidence-based interventions,” said Mark R. Chassin, M.D., FACP, M.P.P., M.P.H., president and CEO, The Joint Commission.
To be a 2015 Top Performer, hospitals had to meet three performance criteria based on 2014 accountability measure data, including:
- Achieving cumulative performance of 95 percent or above across all reported accountability measures;
- Achieving performance of 95 percent or above on each and every reported accountability measure where there were at least 30 denominator cases; and
- Having at least one core measure set that had a composite rate of 95 percent or above, and within that measure set, achieve a performance rate of 95 percent or above on all applicable individual accountability measures.
A list of all Top Performer hospitals is also highlighted in The Joint Commission’s 2015 annual report “America’s Hospitals: Improving Quality and Safety.” For more information about the Top Performer program, visit www.jointcommission.org/accreditation/top_performers.aspx.