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National recognition for heart care

Mercy Medical Center cited for superior care of heart failure patients

10 / 26 / 2006

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OSHKOSH, Wis. – Mercy Medical Center has been named as a 2006 CareScience™ Select Practice National Quality Leader for its care of heart failure patients. As an award recipient, Mercy has shown that it provides superior care of heart failure patients.

Nearly 5 million people live with heart failure, and 550,000 people are diagnosed with the disease each year. Congestive heart failure involves the weakening of the pumping power of the heart.

CareScience Select Practice designations are determined by rigorous analysis of data collected by the Center for Medicare/Medicaid Services. Unlike other national hospital rankings, which rely heavily on financially-based measures, CareScience analysis uses only quantifiable data to determine excellence in clinical quality and efficiency. All acute care inpatient facilities in the United States with at least 50 cases of heart failure were eligible to receive this designation.

“To achieve this exclusive status, Mercy Medical Center demonstrated a combination of superior clinical outcomes and exceptional efficiency in treating heart failure patients when compared to other hospitals in the U.S.,” said Richard Bankowitz, vice president and medical director for CareScience. “We believe the CareScience Select Practice National Quality Leader award recipients represent the country’s very best health care facilities for patient care.”

“This honor reinforces our efforts to provide the best heart care to residents of Oshkosh and Winnebago County,” said Cliff Lehman, chief operating officer for Affinity Health System’s Southern Region. “Mercy is the only local hospital with three resident cardiologists on staff. Oshkosh-area residents can be confident the care they receive from the Mercy cardiology program is superior.”

Additional information on the CareScience Select Practice awards can be found at http://www.carescience.com/newsevents/selectpractice/index.cfm.

CareScience, a division of Quovadx, Inc., assists hospitals in translating organizational vision and goals into quality improvement plans that optimize patient outcomes and operational performance, increase staff efficiency and reduce costs. CareScience Select Practice awards are an indication of organizational focus on and achievement in improving the quality and efficiency of patient care. Quovadx and CareScience are trademarks of Quovadx, Inc. All other company and product names mentioned may be trademarks of the companies with which they are associated.

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For the Editor:
Affinity Health System, a Catholic mission-oriented regional health care network, is a partnership of Ministry Health Care and Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare. Affinity Health System is the Fox Valley’s third largest employer, according to the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce & Industry, and is ranked 24 among the top 100 integrated health care networks nationwide (Verispan 2008). Both St. Elizabeth Hospital in Appleton and Mercy Medical Center in Oshkosh rank among the top 1 percent among hospitals nationwide in terms of quality and efficiency, as determined by the 2007 Premier | CareScience Select practice National Quality Award. Network Health Plan has achieved Excellent accreditation status from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), the highest possible level. It is ranked 37th among the 250 rated health plans in the nation in terms of customer satisfaction and clinical performance, according to the U.S. News and World Report/NCQA Best Health Plans in America listing. Members of Affinity include Mercy Medical Center and Mercy Health Foundation, Oshkosh; St. Elizabeth Hospital and the St. Elizabeth Hospital Community Foundation, Appleton; Affinity Medical Group, a regional network of 23 family practice and specialty clinics in 13 communities; Calumet Medical Center, Chilton; Network Health Plan, Menasha; and Affinity Occupational Health.