Our Commitment to Quality
Community Memorial Healthcenter has been serving this region for more than 50 years. We have earned a reputation in the region for taking the lead on healthcare quality. We are committed to providing the highest quality care to those in need. Quality is often measured in many ways. There are national agencies that rate hospital quality on a variety of measures. CMH volunteered to report our data; we invite you to review these results.
Hospital Quality Alliance
The Hospital Compare Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), along with the Hospital Quality Alliance (HQA) provides information about hospital performance. The HQA is a public-private collaboration established to promote reporting on hospital quality of care representing consumers, hospitals, doctors and nurses, employers, accrediting organizations, and Federal agencies. CMH voluntarily submits data on 20 measures of care. These measures reflect recommended treatments for heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia, and surgical infection prevention.
Anthem Quality-In-Sight® Hospital Incentive Program (Q-HIP)
The Anthem Q-HIP program works to improve hospital based clinical quality and health outcomes for all Virginians. Hospitals are recognized and rewarded for excellence in clinical outcomes, patient safety and patient satisfaction through performance-based reimbursement.
Community Memorial Healthcenter was one of the first hospitals in Virginia to participate in the Anthem Q-HIP program which focuses on evaluating hospital processes for patient safety, as well as specific indicators of care for patients with three common conditions: heart attack, heart failure and pneumonia.
Community Memorial Healthcenter was in the top 10 % of the 63 hospitals that participated in the Q-HIP program during the period from July 1, 2006 to June 30, 2007. See charts below.
Health Grades
Health Grades is a healthcare ratings, information, and advisory services company which measures and assesses healthcare quality, on popular medical conditions.
You, the patient, have the right to know how our health system compares to state and national quality performance measures (as determined by the Joint Commission, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and other national agencies reporting on quality) to help you make an informed health care decision.
Quality Check
In July 2004, the Joint Commission started a new web based reporting system called
Quality Check. It is a comprehensive guide to the nearly 16,000 Joint Commission-accredited health care organizations and programs throughout the United States. Quality Reports feature a user-friendly format with checks, pluses and minuses to help the general public compare health care organization performance in a number of key areas including quality of care and patient safety.
CMS/Premier Hospital Quality Incentive Demonstration (HQID)
CMH is among 260 hospitals across the nation that are participating in the CMS/Premier Hospital Quality Incentive Demonstration (HQID), which tracks hospital performance in meeting nationally standardized quality measures. The project rewards hospitals for being a top performer in five clinical areas. This is the second year of the “pay for performance” project. CMH was among the first hospitals to voluntarily participate in this demonstration project to enhance the quality of patient care. Clinical areas measured include heart attack, heart failure, coronary artery bypass graft, hip and knee replacement and pneumonia.
In the last quarter, CMH scored in the top 10-percent of participating hospitals in heart attack treatment based on its second-year, overall quality score. For complete information about the HQID project, visit www.premierinc.com/qualitydemo.
Awards and Recognition:
Quality Respiratory Care Recognition (QRCR)
Community Memorial Healthcenter has earned Quality Respiratory Care Recognition (QRCR) under a national program aimed at helping patients and families make informed decisions about the quality of the respiratory care services available in hospitals. About 500 hospitals or approximately 10% of hospitals in the United States have applied for and received this award. CMH is 1 out of 16 hospitals recognized in Virginia.
The QRCR program was started by the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) in 2003 to help consumers identify those facilities using qualified respiratory therapists to provide respiratory care. Hospitals earning the QRCR designation ensure patient safety by agreeing to adhere to a strict set of criteria governing their respiratory care services. To qualify for the recognition, Community Memorial Healthcenter provided documentation showing it meets the following conditions:
- All respiratory therapists employed by the hospital to deliver bedside respiratory care services are either legally recognized by the state as competent to provide respiratory care services or hold the CRT or RRT credential.
- Respiratory therapists are available 24 hours.
- Other personnel qualified to perform specific respiratory procedures and the amount of supervision required for personnel to carry out specific procedures must be designated in writing.
- A doctor of medicine or osteopathy is designated as medical director of respiratory care services.
Advancing Excellence in America’s Nursing Homes
Community Memorial Healthcenter’s W.S. Hundley Extended Care Facility has joined the Advancing Excellence in America’s Nursing Homes campaign, a national quality initiative.
The quality campaign, launched in September 2006, is a two-year program designed to improve the quality of life for nursing home residents and staff. CMH has joined this campaign because of its continued commitment to improving quality. This effort is an unparalleled collaboration between long-term care providers, caregivers, medical and quality improvement experts, government agencies and consumers. Each of these groups play an important role in creating awareness about quality and the resources that are available to providers to aid in improving patient care.