Four WellStar Hospitals Place on Quality Honor Roll

WellStar Cobb, Douglas, Kennestone and Paulding hospitals were named to the Georgia Hospital Association’s (GHA) Partnership for Health and Accountability (PHA) Quality Honor Roll. These are four of 61 hospitals in Georgia to be placed in the Presidential category, one of the highest on the list. The honor roll is based on clinical data provided by the federal Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services (CMS), which administers the nation’s Medicare and Medicaid programs. The data was collected from January 2010 to December 2010.

“This is a great accomplishment for WellStar,” said Joseph Parker, president of GHA. “This recognition further underscores the commitment of the WellStar staff to ensuring that every patient receives the best, most effective healthcare possible.”

All acute care hospitals are required to submit care data to CMS. This data details how well a hospital’s caregivers adhere to a list of eight Appropriate Care Measures (ACM), which are the clinical processes of care that are known to be the most effective methods of treatment for patients who have suffered heart attacks, heart failure or pneumonia. The ACM is a composite measure that determines whether or not a patient received the right care at the right time.

For instance, a recommended treatment to help prevent a heart attack is to take aspirin either before or upon arrival at the hospital, as well as at discharge. A suggested treatment for pneumonia is to administer an antibiotic within four hours of a patient’s arrival. A hospital’s adherence to these recommended clinical practices usually leads to better outcomes.

“It is our vision to deliver world class healthcare across our entire health system and this recognition validates we are on track to accomplishing this vision,” said Jim Budzinski, interim president and chief executive officer of WellStar Health System. “This honor is a tribute to the hard work and dedication of our physicians, our nurses and all of our team members who are constantly working toward making our vision a reality. They truly are making a difference in people's lives.”