December 7, 2009—Ridgeview Medical Center has recently been recognized for scoring in the top three percent among more than 2,300 hospitals nationwide in surgical care improvement process-of-care measures. The measures, as developed and rated by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), relate to achievement of recommended treatment in cases of heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia and surgical care.

“Clinical excellence, patient safety and patient-centered experiences are among Ridgeview’s top priorities,” says Robert Stevens, president and CEO, Ridgeview Medical Center. “Our surgical care improvement strategies, for which we were recently recognized, include processes and procedures designed to provide the best evidence-based care while enhancing patients’ experiences.”

“Improvements made to our surgical care strategies lead to better results for patients,” says B.J. Buckland, RN, MS, director of Ridgeview’s Surgical Services. “For example, our surgeons order antibiotics to be given within one hour before surgery and discontinued within 24 hours after surgery ends, in accordance with guidelines set forth by Medicare. This has given Ridgeview a 96 percent or greater rate of compliance over the national average of just 86 percent."

As a result of its top status for providing the recommended care known to get the best results in innovative surgical care improvement strategies, Ridgeview was featured in a recent study by The Commonwealth Fund, entitled “Ridgeview Medical Center: Service Line Structure Lays Groundwork for Surgical Care Improvement.” The Commonwealth Fund’s Web site, www.WhyNotTheBest.org, reports publicly available data and provides a tool with which hospitals can benchmark their own performances.

For more information about Ridgeview’s awards and accreditations, visit www.ridgeviewmedical.org/quality.

*Source: www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov; data collected April 2007–March 2008