Today, HCA Midwest Health System’s Allen County Regional Hospital, Belton Regional Medical Center, Cass Regional Medical Center, Centerpoint Medical Center, Lafayette Regional Health Center, Lee’s Summit Medical Center, Research Medical Center and Research Psychiatric Center were named Top Performer on Key Quality Measures® by The Joint Commission, the leading accreditor of health care organizations in America.

The eight hospitals, part of HCA Midwest Health System — Kansas City’s largest healthcare provider and private sector employer — are being recognized by The Joint Commission based on data reported about evidence-based clinical processes that are shown to improve care for certain conditions, including heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia, surgical care and inpatient psychiatric services.

“Excellent health care is what all patients expect and deserve,” says M.L. Lagarde, President, HCA Midwest Health System.  “HCA Midwest Health System physicians and staff strive to care for every patient using the best evidence-based care. We’re honored to have eight hospitals included on this distinguished list.”

The eight HCA Midwest Health System hospitals are among 1,099 hospitals in the U.S. earning the distinction of Top Performer on Key Quality Measures for attaining and sustaining excellence in accountability measure performance. The ratings are based on an aggregation of accountability measure data reported to The Joint Commission during the 2012 calendar year. The list of Top Performer organizations increased by 77 percent from last year and it represents 33 percent of all Joint Commission-accredited hospitals reporting accountability measure performance data for 2012.

Allen County Regional Hospital is being recognized for achieving these quality thresholds for pneumonia. It is the second consecutive year the hospital has received this recognition.

Belton Regional Medical Center is being recognized for achieving these quality thresholds for pneumonia and surgical care. It is the third consecutive year the hospital has received this recognition.

Cass Regional Medical Center is being recognized for achieving these quality thresholds for pneumonia, surgical care, and inpatient psychiatric services. It is the second consecutive year the hospital has received this recognition for surgical care.

Centerpoint Medical Center is being recognized for achieving these quality thresholds for heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia and surgical care.

Lafayette Regional Health Center is being recognized for achieving these quality thresholds for pneumonia and surgical care. It is the third consecutive year the hospital has received this recognition for pneumonia. 

Lee’s Summit Medical Center is being recognized for achieving these quality thresholds for heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia and surgical care. It is the third consecutive year the hospital has received this recognition.

Research Medical Center is being recognized for achieving these quality thresholds for heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia, and surgical care.

Research Psychiatric Center is being recognized for achieving these quality thresholds for hospital-based inpatient psychiatric services.

“We understand that what matters most to patients is safe, effective care. That’s why HCA Midwest Health System continues its commitment to accreditation and to positive patient outcomes through evidence-based care processes,” says Darryl Nelson, MD, HCA Midwest Health System Chief Medical Officer. “This commitment is making an impact and our eight hospitals are proud to be named to the list of The Joint Commission’s Top Performers on Key Quality Measures.”

To be recognized as a top performer on key quality measures an organization must meet two 95 percent performance thresholds. First they must achieve a composite performance of 95 percent or above after the results of all the accountability measures for which they report data to The Joint Commission were factored into a simple score, including measures that had less than 30 eligible cases or patients. Second, they must meet or exceed a 95 percent performance target for every single accountability measure for which they report data, excluding any measures with less than 30 eligible cases or patients.

“Allen County Regional Hospital, Belton Regional Medical Center, Cass Regional Medical Center, Centerpoint Medical Center, Lafayette Regional Health Center, Lee’s Summit Medical Center, Research Medical Center and Research Psychiatric Center and all the Top Performer hospitals have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to quality improvement and they should be proud of their achievement,” says Mark R. Chassin, M.D., FACP, M.P.P., M.P.H., President and Chief Executive Officer, The Joint Commission. “We have much to celebrate this year. Nearly half of our accredited hospitals have attained or nearly attained the Top Performer distinction. This truly shows that we are approaching a tipping point in hospital quality performance that will directly contribute to better health outcomes for patients.&rdquo

In addition to being included in today’s release of The Joint Commission’s “Improving America’s Hospitals” annual report, Allen County Regional Hospital, Belton Regional Medical Center, Cass Regional Medical Center, Centerpoint Medical Center, Lafayette Regional Health Center, Lee’s Summit Medical Center, Research Medical Center and Research Psychiatric Center will be recognized on The Joint Commission’s Quality Check website (www.qualitycheck.org). The Top Performer program will be featured in the December issues of The Joint Commission Perspectives and The Source.