Springfield Hospital Receives VHA Leadership Award for Clinical Excellence

VHA Inc., a national health care network, has given Springfield Hospital a 2013 VHA Leadership Award for Clinical Excellence.

Springfield Hospital Receives VHA Leadership Award for Clinical Excellence Posted on 5/19/2013 Receiving the 2013 VHA Clinical Excellence Award on behalf of Springfield Hospital (l to r): Ted Cody, MD, Kelley Tully, Inpatient Clinical Manager, Katrina Harris, DO, President of Medical Staff, Susan Pollard, RN, Case Manager, and Richard Marasa, MD, Director of Emergency Services. Springfield, VT - VHA Inc., a national health care network, has given Springfield Hospital a 2013 VHA Leadership Award for Clinical Excellence, honoring the hospital for achieving national performance standards for clinical quality, safety and patient experience. VHA is a national network of more than 1,350 not-for-profit hospital systems and 72,000 non-acute facilities that work together to achieve new levels of clinical performance and operational efficiency. VHA awarded 40 hospitals and health systems its 2013 VHA Leadership Award for Clinical Excellence Springfield Hospital was one of ten VHA member hospitals to receive this year’s award in the “Critical Access, Acute Care Hospitals” category. Winners were announced May 1st during VHA’s national meeting, the 2013 Navigating to Excellence Forum, held in Las Vegas. The VHA Leadership Award for Clinical Excellence recognizes organizations that achieve top performance in care measures tracked by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Winners are selected based on a composite score consisting of three elements: 1) Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) Total Performance Score, which includes Core Measures and the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Services (HCAHPS) survey results; 2) 30-day readmission rates; and 3) Medicare cost data. “I am pleased to accept this Leadership Award on behalf of all members of our medical team, staff, and Board of Directors, whose teamwork and commitment to high standards of patient care are reflected in this honor,” comments Andrew J. Majka, Acting Chief Executive Officer for Springfield Medical Care Systems. He adds, “High quality and cost effective care have always been a top priority at Springfield Hospital. In 2009 we re-organized our delivery system to increase our emphasis on primary and preventive care and have increased our focus on ensuring successful transitions for our patients from acute hospital services to community-based outpatient services. The result is where quality, outcomes and efficiency meet; in other words—Value.” He continues, “This national recognition emphasizes this point and is something in which our entire staff and the communities we serve can, and should, take enormous pride.” "The leaders and staff in these organizations have shown their dedication to providing consistently high levels of clinical care as well as continually improving that performance to produce better outcomes for their patients,” said Steve Miff, PhD, VHA’s senior vice president for Clinical and Care Delivery Solutions. “Since the passing of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, the health care industry has moved quickly to establish and meet performance quality metrics and align care protocol. We are especially proud of these VHA organizations for exceptional performance against national key indicators.” By recognizing institutions for their commitment and achievements, VHA hopes that other health systems will apply these leading practices in their own organizations to further enhance the overall level of quality in our nation’s health care system.