KCH Achieves ‘Top Performer’ Designation
By JOY J. LOHSE
Marketing and Public Relations Director, Lutheran Health Network KCH
WARSAW — Kosciusko Community Hospital is one of five Lutheran Health Network hospitals named Top Performers on Key Quality Measures by The Joint Commission, the leading accreditor of healthcare organizations in the United States.
Kosciusko Community Hospital is one of only 435 hospitals nationally to earn top performer recognition for the past three consecutive years. There are more than 3,300 Joint Commission-accredited hospitals.
Kosciusko Community Hospital, Bluffton Regional Medical Center, Dupont Hospital, St. Joseph Hospital and The Orthopedic Hospital of Lutheran Health Network 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.
“Sharing, adopting and adhering to best practices is a hallmark of our network,” said Kirk Ray, chief executive officer, Kosciusko Community Hospital. “As a hospital that has recognized multiple times as a top performer, Kosciusko Community Hospital 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:
- Kosciusko Community Hospital: Heart failure, pneumonia, surgical care and immunization
- Bluffton Regional Medical Center: Pneumonia, surgical care and immunization
- Dupont Hospital: Pneumonia, surgical care, immunization and perinatal care
- 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 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
- 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, click here.