A Week In Business

A Week In Business
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Hospital Meets Standards

BERLIN – By demonstrating compliance with The Joint Commission’s national standards for health care quality and safety, Atlantic General Hospital and Health System has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval™.

Founded in 1951, The Joint Commission is dedicated to continuously improving the safety and quality of the nation’s health care through voluntary accreditation. The Joint Commission’s on-site survey of Atlantic General Hospital and Health System occurred in October.

"Above all, the national standards are intended to stimulate continuous, systematic and organization-wide improvement in an organization’s performance and the outcomes of care," says Mark Pelletier, R.N., M.S., executive director, Hospital Programs, Accreditation and Certification Services, The Joint Commission. "The community should be proud that Atlantic General Hospital and Health System is focusing on the most challenging goal — to continuously raise quality and safety to higher levels."

Michael Franklin, AGH President and CEO, spoke of his pride in the organization whose associates, medical staff, boards and volunteers collaboratively ask what needs to be done to be accredited by The Joint Commission. "In addition, they appreciate the educational aspect of the survey and the opportunity to interact with the team of surveyors," he said.

Franklin called the accreditation, "proof of an organization-wide commitment to provide quality care on an ongoing basis."

High Ranking Announced

SALISBURY – Peninsula Regional Medical Center announced Tuesday that a new study, for a second consecutive year, has ranked its clinical quality among the top 5% of all hospitals in the nation.

The study by HealthGrades, the leading independent healthcare ratings organization, analyzed patient outcomes at each of the nation’s 5,000 non-federal hospitals over the years 2006, 2007 and 2008 and named hospitals in the top five percent, including Peninsula Regional, as HealthGrades Distinguished Hospitals for Clinical Excellence™. Peninsula Regional Medical Center is one of only 269 hospitals that received this distinction from HealthGrades, and the only Distinguished Hospital for Clinical Excellence recipient on the Delmarva Peninsula to earn this award in both 2009 and 2010.

“At Peninsula Regional Medical Center we have an experienced, skilled and dedicated team of physicians, clinicians, volunteers and employees who work extremely hard to provide the continuous exceptional care our patients expect and deserve,” said Peggy Naleppa, MS, MBA, Dr. M., FACHE, President/CEO. “It is because of their commitment to safety, compassion and successful outcomes that we have been honored with this distinguished award in consecutive years, and are again among the best health care teams in the entire nation.”

According to the eighth annual HealthGrades Hospital Quality and Clinical Excellence study, Peninsula Regional Medical Center and the other hospitals in the top 5% demonstrated patient outcomes that far exceeded those of other hospitals. Patients admitted to these hospitals had risk-adjusted mortality rates that were, on average, 29% lower than all other hospitals. Risk-adjusted complication rates were, on average, 9% lower than all other hospitals.