HICKORY – Catawba Valley Medical Center (CVMC) in June received the
Premier Excellence in Patient Safety Award, joining an elite group of
just 22 hospitals nationally who earned the distinction. CVMC was one
of only two in North Carolina to achieve the recognition.
CVMC received the news at Premier’s annual
Breakthroughs Conference and Exhibition in Nashville, TN. Each summer, thousands of health systems, academic institutions
and supplier representatives attend the conference to learn practical
strategies to improve healthcare delivery.
The Excellence in Patient Safety Award CVMC received recognizes top performing
hospitals that actively participate in the Premier Hospital Improvement
Innovation Network and demonstrate excellence in performance in the program’s
13 patient safety adverse event areas of focus.
In May, CVMC also learned it was the only hospital in the Catawba County
region to be awarded an ‘A’ safety grade by The Leapfrog Group,
a national organization that scores healthcare quality and safety for
consumers and purchasers. It assigns a Safety Grade of A, B, C, D or F
to hospitals across the country based on their performance in preventing
medical errors, infections and other harms among patients in their care.
Susan DeVore, Premier Inc. CEO, said, “Recipients of Premier’s
2019 Breakthroughs Awards are industry leaders that continue to transform
healthcare. We are honored to recognize them for their innovative efforts
to improve quality and efficiency, as well as the health of communities
across the nation.”
Sonya Fleming, CVMC Director of Patient Experience, and Jonell Fields,
CVMC Director of Transitions of Care, were invited to give podium presentations
to attendees. Fields presented the Patient Care Manager model as an approach
to effective transitions of care. Fleming presented on strategies organizations
can use to improve patient experience.