Tanner Named to Georgia Hospital Association's Quality Honor Roll

All three Tanner Health System hospitals – Tanner Medical Center/Carrollton, Tanner Medical Center/Villa Rica and Higgins General Hospital in Bremen – have been named to the Georgia Hospital Association’s (GHA) quality honor roll.

Tanner Medical Center/Villa Rica is among 22 Georgia hospitals named to the Chairman’s category – the highest on the list – of the Georgia Hospital Association’s Partnership for Health and Accountability Quality Honor Roll. Tanner Medical Center/Carrollton and Higgins General Hospital were among 62 Georgia hospitals named to the President’s category – second highest on the honor roll.

The honor roll is based on clinical data provided by the federal Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS), which administers the nation’s Medicare and Medicaid programs. The ranking was based on data collected over the course of a year, from October 2009 to September 2010.

“This is a great accomplishment for Tanner Medical Center/Villa Rica,” said Joseph Parker, president of the Georgia Hospital Association. “This recognition further underscores the commitment of Tanner’s staff to ensuring that every patient receives the best, most effective health care 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 goal to ensure that each of our patients receives the right care at the right time,” said Loy Howard, president and CEO of Tanner Health System. “This recognition validates this. It is an honor and a tribute to the hard work and dedication of our staff who are constantly working to make excellent care even better.”

The Partnership for Health and Accountability, formed in January 2000 and sponsored by the Georgia Hospital Association, is a unique statewide collaborative that brings together healthcare providers with community agencies and individuals to achieve healthy communities. PHA includes representation from groups like hospitals, physicians, state health officials, legislators and businesses.

To learn more about Tanner Health System or to find a physician on Tanner’s medical staff, call 770.214.CARE or visit www.tanner.org.