Press Release: Memorial Hospital Wins Two Qualis Health Awards of Excellence

News Release
05/03/10
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact: Nicole Donegan, Memorial Communications: 509.574.5922
Cell: 509.949.2980

Memorial Hospital Wins Two Qualis Health Awards of Excellence

View details of the awards by clicking on the PDFS below.

Glycemic Control

Surgery

Emergency Department

YAKIMA – Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital was recognized with two Awards of Excellence in Healthcare Quality at the May 4th Washington Patient Safety Coalition’s Northwest Patient Safety Conference in Seattle. Each year, Qualis, the state organization that monitors quality for Medicare and Medicaid, honors organizations that demonstrate innovative, documented quality improvement efforts that result in long-term health-care changes for the public good. This year Qualis awarded a total of six awards, two to Memorial.

The first award recognizes Memorial’s efforts in its Emergency Department, for improving patient safety, reducing the average patient length of stay and reducing the number of patients who left without being seen.

The second award focuses on Memorial’s efforts in improving glycemic (blood sugar) control, to reduce hyperglycemia in adult orthopedic patients. Hyperglycemia in hospitalized patients can lead to increased mortality, infectious complications, and length of stay in hospital settings.

An awards committee comprised of representatives from health-care professional and trade organizations judged the nominations. To be selected, projects needed to demonstrate improvement in efficiency and effectiveness, while staying focused on patient and family-centered care.

“These awards highlight the successes we have achieved through our quality improvement initiatives at Memorial,” says Russ Myers, Chief Operative Officer at Memorial. “This was truly a huge team effort and a number of people contributed to the outcomes. To be successful meant thinking outside the box, and reinventing the way we do things, to better serve our patients. Awards like these show that the hard work and innovative ideas are truly worth the effort.”