Iowa Health System Among Nation's Best in Clinical Quality and Efficiency
August 17, 2009
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Iowa Health System is ranked among the nation’s top health systems for quality and efficiency in a new report from Thomson Reuters.
The 100 Top Hospitals: Health Systems Quality/Efficiency Study evaluated 252 health systems, with a total of 1,720 hospitals, on measures of clinical quality and efficiency. The report focused on five measure of performance to evaluate the systems: mortality, complications, patient safety, length of stay and use of evidence-based practices.
“Our clinical performance improvement teams have years of experience implementing other evidence-based care models to improve patient outcomes in our hospitals throughout Iowa and western Illinois,” Iowa Health System President and CEO Bill Leaver said. “Being recognized as one of the leading organizations in patient care reinforces our commitment to continued quality improvement.”
Iowa Health System’s improvement initiatives engage employees at all levels. Using Lean initiatives, process improvement strategies and evidence-based care research, Iowa Health System medical experts are eliminating waste and standardizing health care processes throughout its 26 metropolitan and rural hospitals.
These clinical performance improvement efforts have achieved significant results, including reduced wait times and fewer frustrations for patients and their families.
Iowa Health System seeks input from local and international leaders to increase quality and patient care. The Clinical Performance Improvement team participates in several improvement partnerships, including the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, the National Quality Forum and the Healthcare Value Leaders Network.
Several hospital initiatives, including a program called Transitions Home at St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, are heralded as models to help hospitals better serve their patients. Transitions Home focuses on individuals with heart failure by providing self-management support for patients after they leave the hospitals and reducing the number of individuals being readmitted for further treatment.
"Iowa Health System is a pioneering organization in exploring ways to improve the lives of patients and the health of communities," said Donald Berwick, President and CEO of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, and a national expert on health-care quality. "The health professionals at Iowa Health System are dedicated to deliver the best possible care for their patients, and health-care leaders and clinicians across the nation who want to improve care can benefit from studying their bold efforts."
Similar to other leading organizations, Iowa Health System credits its systemwide performance improvement team and extensive input from front-line caregivers as key components of its efforts to evaluate every aspect of how its hospitals care for patients.
“We're focused on our vision of delivering the Best Outcome for Every Patient Every Time, and working to bring best practices to every process in our health-care delivery model," Leaver said. "People put their trust in us, and we're striving for excellence. It's what our patients expect and deserve."
About Iowa Health System:
Initially formed in 1995, Iowa Health System is the state's first and largest integrated health system, serving nearly one of every three patients in Iowa. Iowa Health System provides care throughout Iowa and western Illinois, with 26 hospitals in metropolitan and rural communities and more than 140 group practices of physicians and clinics.
Iowa Health System employs the state’s largest nonprofit workforce, with nearly 20,000 employees working toward innovative advancements to achieve its vision of delivering the Best Outcome for Every Patient Every Time. Each year, through more than 2.5 million patient visits, Iowa Health System hospitals and clinics provide a full range of care and cover virtually every medical specialty. With annual revenues of $2 billion, Iowa Health System is the sixth largest nondenominational health system in America and provides community benefit programs and services to improve the health of people in its communities.
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