Hospitals Honored for Commitment to Quality

ATRIUM HEALTH’S CAROLINAS REHABILITATION, MISSION HEALTH & RICHMOND UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER HONORED FOR COMMITMENT TO QUALITY

American Hospital Association Quest for Quality Prize Recognizes Hospital Leadership and Innovation in Quality and Performance Improvement

WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 22, 2019) – The American Hospital Association (AHA) today announced that Atrium Health’s Carolinas Rehabilitation, headquartered in Charlotte, N.C. has been named as the 2019 recipient of the American Hospital Association Quest for Quality Prize.

Carolinas Rehabilitation, the first rehabilitation network to win the Quest for Quality Prize, was selected by a multi-disciplinary committee of health care quality and patient safety experts based on its exemplary achievements in engaging with community partners to address social determinants of health, empowering its workforce to excel and innovate and improving access for all patients.

In addition, two other hospitals and health systems will also be recognized for their leadership and innovation in quality and performance improvement. Mission Health, an operating division of HCA Healthcare, based in Asheville, N.C. will be honored as a finalist while Richmond University Medical Center in Staten Island, N.Y. will receive the Citation of Merit.

The American Hospital Association Quest for Quality Prize recognizes health care leadership and innovation in improving quality and advancing health in communities. The Quest for Quality Prize was first awarded to hospitals starting in 2002 and expanded to include health systems last year. All recipients demonstrate an alignment with AHA’s five commitments of access, value, partnership, well-being and coordination. The prize is supported by a grant from RLDatix. This year’s recipients will be recognized on July 25 at the AHA Leadership Summit in San Diego. More information on the prize, including how to apply, can be found by visiting https://www.aha.org/about/awards/quest-for-quality.

“This year’s winner and honorees have demonstrated an organizational-wide commitment to advancing the quality of care they provide each day to their patients and communities,” said Rick Pollack, AHA’s president and CEO. “Their leadership in improving care is a model for hospitals and health systems across the country.”

“As the AHA’s Champion Sponsor of Quality, RLDatix is proud to present the Quest for Quality award to hospitals and health systems that are embodying a forward thinking and innovative approach to advancing care throughout America,” said Jeff Surges, CEO of RLDatix. “This year’s finalists are making a difference in their communities by leveraging data and implementing programs that raise the bar for safe, efficient and quality care. Their efforts to drive improvement exemplify the idea that better care means safer care, and RLDatix is honored to recognize these incredible organizations.”

Prize Winner: Atrium Health’s Carolinas Rehabilitation – Charlotte, N.C.

Carolinas Rehabilitation is committed to improving access for all patients, excelling in peer learning opportunities and continued development of innovative practices across its four inpatient locations throughout the Greater Charlotte area. Carolinas Rehabilitation’s EQUADR℠ network collects data and reports rehabilitation-specific quality outcomes and now supports an extensive and active partnership of 38 rehabilitation hospitals and health systems from around the country. As a result, there are now over five million patient days of data in its database, providing a wealth of information for comparative performance analysis, so best practices can be shared and replicated.
 

The hospital’s innovative virtual patient observation (VPO) monitoring program serves as a telemetry unit with multiple screens showing high fall risk patients and enables direct, real-time communication with the patient and/or visitors if the patient appears to be doing something that could result in a fall. Since the program's inception, there has been a 43 percent decrease in the number of falls and a significant associated cost savings.
 

Finalist: Mission Health – Asheville, N.C.

Mission Health, an operating division of HCA Healthcare, is the state’s sixth largest health system, with six hospitals, numerous outpatient and surgery centers, post-acute care provider CarePartners, long-term acute care provider Asheville Specialty Hospital and the region’s only dedicated Level II trauma center. Mission has displayed a deep commitment to quality improvement and to fostering community relationships in partnering with multiple organizations to impact the community-defined priority areas of Behavioral Health/Substance Use, Food Security and Interpersonal Violence by funding local non-profit organizations. In addition to using telehealth to connect sites across the region, Mission Health has provided a strong culture of employee engagement throughout the system, including seeking employee input for the design of a new facility. A particular strength of Mission Health has been its prioritization of, and commitment to, a strong patient experience that seeks family input and feedback. Mission Health’s more than 12,000 team members devote themselves to nurturing, encouraging, healing and supporting the nearly one million people who call Western North Carolina home.

Citation of Merit: Richmond University Medical Center – Staten Island, N.Y.

Serving Staten Island and surrounding communities for over 100 years, Richmond University Medical Center is the borough’s leading provider of behavioral health services for children, adolescents and adults. Home to Staten Island’s only inpatient psychiatric services for adolescents, the hospital has a full staff of behavioral health providers for substance abuse, psychotherapy, and psychiatric care. Richmond University Medical Center has been a leader in addressing behavioral health and primary care, including a comprehensive community-wide approach to tackling opioid use in its community. The hospital has also been effective in using a community needs assessment to address social determinants of health, engaging staff and medical residents in various quality improvement initiatives and working to address obesity issues as well as the opioid crisis.

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Contact:       

Colin Milligan, (202) 638-5491

About the American Hospital Association (AHA)

The AHA is a not-for-profit association of health care provider organizations and individuals that are committed to the improvement of health in their communities. The AHA is the national advocate for its members, which include nearly 5,000 hospitals, health care systems, networks and other providers of care. Founded in 1898, the AHA provides education for health care leaders and is a source of information on health care issues and trends. For more information, visit www.aha.org.

About RLDatix

RLDatix is on a mission to change healthcare. We help organizations drive safer, more efficient care by providing governance, risk and compliance tools that drive overall improvement and safety. Our suite of cloud-based software helps organizations reduce healthcare-acquired infections, report on adverse events, and ensure patient safety learnings are deployed effectively and immediately through dynamic policy and procedure management. 

With over 3,000 customers in 19 countries, RLDatix software protects hundreds of millions of patients around the world. For more information, visit www.rldatix.com.