Community Spotlight: Several Area Hospitals Earn

BRADENTON – Fourteen HCA West Florida hospitals have recently been named as Top Performers on Key Quality Measures by The Joint Commission, the leading accreditor of healthcare organizations in America. The HCA West Florida hospitals are part of an elite group of 1,099 hospitals nationwide to earn this distinction for attaining and sustaining excellence in accountability measure performance.

With the July opening of Poinciana Medical Center and the October acquisition of three IASIS hospitals in Tampa Bay (Palms of Pasadena Hospital, Memorial Hospital of Tampa and Town & Country Hospital), there are currently a total of 19 HCA West Florida hospitals.

HCA West Florida hospitals named Top Performers for 2012 include:

• Blake Medical Center in Bradenton
• Brandon Regional Hospital
• Central Florida Regional Hospital in Sanford
• Doctors Hospital of Sarasota
• Edward White Hospital in St. Petersburg
• Englewood Community Hospital
• Fawcett Memorial Hospital in Port Charlotte
• Largo Medical Center
• Medical Center of Trinity
• Northside Hospital in St. Petersburg
• Oak Hill Hospital in Brooksville
• Osceola Regional Medical Center in Kissimmee
• St. Petersburg General Hospital
• South Bay Hospital in Sun City Center

This is the third year in a row that Central Florida Regional Hospital, Doctors Hospital of Sarasota, Fawcett Memorial Hospital, Largo Medical Center, Medical Center of Trinity and South Bay Hospital achieved this distinction.   

“The hospitals of HCA West Florida are committed to providing the highest quality of care to our patients, in a safe and secure environment,” said Peter Marmerstein, FACHE, President of HCA West Florida. “Using evidence-based patient care processes with proven links to positive patient outcomes is a key driver today in achieving the best results possible for our patients.”

Evidence-based clinical processes are shown to improve care for certain medical conditions, including heart attack, pneumonia, surgery, children’s asthma, stroke and venous thrombo embolism, as well as inpatient psychiatric services. New this year is a category for immunization for pneumonia and influenza.

The list of Top Performer organizations increased by 77 percent from last year and it represents 33 percent of all Joint Commission-accredited hospitals reporting accountability measure performance data for 2012.

Each of the hospitals that were named as a Top Performer on Key Quality Measures must:            

• Achieve cumulative performance of 95 percent or above across all reported accountability measures; 

• Achieve performance of 95 percent or above on each and every reported accountability measure where there are at least 30 denominator cases; 

• Have at least one core measure set that has a composite rate of 95 percent or above, and within that measure set all applicable individual accountability measures have a performance rate of 95 percent or above. A 95 percent score means a hospital provided an evidence-based practice 95 times out of 100 opportunities. Each accountability measure represents an evidence-based practice – examples include giving aspirin at arrival for heart attack patients, giving antibiotics one hour before surgery, or providing a home management plan of care for children with asthma.

“All of the Top Performer hospitals have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to quality improvement and they should be proud of their achievement,” says Mark R. Chassin, M.D., FACP, M.P.P., M.P.H., president and chief executive officer, The Joint Commission. “This truly shows that we are approaching a tipping point in hospital quality performance that will directly contribute to better health outcomes for patients.”

About HCA West Florida

HCA’s West Florida Division provides a complete continuum of high quality programs and services to meet the healthcare needs of residents and businesses throughout west and central Florida, caring for 1.2 million patients last year. HCA West Florida has 19 hospitals, 16 ambulatory surgery centers, numerous diagnostic imaging and occupational health sites, physician practices, medical education and teaching programs, a regional lab, and consolidated service center. Fourteen HCA West Florida hospitals were recently named Top Performers on Key Quality Measures™ by The Joint Commission. HCA West Florida is affiliated with HCA, a leading comprehensive, integrated provider of healthcare and related services.