Joint Commission Names Northwestern Memorial Hospital Top Performer on Key Quality Measures

CHICAGO, Nov. 17, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Northwestern Memorial Hospital has been named a Top Performer on Key Quality Measures^® in The Joint Commission's 2014 annual report "America's Hospitals: Improving Quality and Safety." Northwestern Memorial was specifically recognized as a Top Performer for outstanding performance on the accreditor's Surgical Care, Heart Attack, Pneumonia and Heart Failure accountability measure sets during 2013. Top Performer status in the 2014 annual report was achieved by only 36.9% of the more than 3,300 Joint Commission-accredited hospitals, of which Northwestern Memorial was the only academic medical center recognized in Chicago.

"We very are proud that Northwestern Memorial has been recognized as a Top Performer by The Joint Commission," said Gary A. Noskin, MD, senior vice president and chief medical officer at Northwestern Memorial. "Being named a Top Performer serves as recognition of our ongoing commitment to provide high quality care in the safest healthcare environment possible for every patient we serve."

To be a Top Performer in The Joint Commission's 2014 annual report, hospitals had to meet all three of the following performance criteria based on 2013 accountability measure data:

• A cumulative performance of 95 percent or above across all reported accountability measures,
• A performance of 95 percent or above on each and every reported accountability measure where there were at least 30 denominator applicable patients treated, and
• At least one core measure set that had a composite rate of 95 percent or above, with all of its individual accountability measures at a performance rate of 95 percent or above.

According to The Joint Commission, the measures used to determine whether or not a hospital is a Top Performer are called "accountability measures" because they measure evidence-based quality care processes that have been closely linked to improved patient outcomes. These measures are regularly reported by hospitals to The Joint Commission as part of the normal accreditation process, and are not submitted separately to seek special quality award recognition.

Northwestern Memorial has a longstanding commitment to a culture of quality, safety and service. By aspiring to the highest standards for quality and patient satisfaction with collaborative focus on process improvement, Northwestern Memorial is committed to delivering care that is safe and without error. To learn more about this commitment to quality, visit Northwestern Memorial's website.

For more information on how hospitals were scored and The Joint Commission's 2014 annual report, visit its website.

About Northwestern Memorial Hospital
Northwestern Memorial is one of the country's premier academic medical center hospitals and is the primary teaching hospital of the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Along with its Prentice Women's Hospital and Stone Institute of Psychiatry, the hospital has 1,705 affiliated physicians and 6,769 employees.  Northwestern Memorial is recognized for providing exemplary patient care and state-of-the art advancements in the areas of cardiovascular care; women's health; oncology; neurology and neurosurgery; solid organ and soft tissue transplants and orthopaedics.

Northwestern Memorial has nursing Magnet Status, the nation's highest recognition for patient care and nursing excellence. Northwestern Memorial ranks 6^th in the nation in the U.S. News & World Report 201-14 Honor Roll of America's Best Hospitals. The hospital is recognized in 14 of 16 clinical specialties rated by U.S. News and is No. 1 in Illinois and Chicago in U.S. News' 2013-14 state and metro rankings, respectively. For 14 years running, Northwestern Memorial has been rated among the "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers" guide by Working Mother magazine. The hospital is a recipient of the prestigious National Quality Health Care Award and has been chosen by Chicagoans as the Consumer Choice according to the National Research Corporation's annual survey for 15 consecutive years. 

SOURCE Northwestern Memorial Hospital

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