2013 HealthGrades Awards|Tunnell Cancer Center National Quality Commendation|Premier Award for Quality Patient Care|Delaware Quality Award|Tunnell Cancer Center National Achievement Award|Golden Apple Awards

HealthGrades^® Names Beebe Medical Center One of America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Overall Orthopedic, Joint Replacement, and Spine Surgery

Only Hospital in the Delmarva Peninsula* to Receive Healthgrades Orthopedic Surgery Excellence Award^TM for Two Years in a Row
(2012-2013)

Lewes, DE (October 23, 2012) – Beebe Medical Center is one of America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Overall Orthopedics, Joint Replacement, Spine Surgery and Coronary Interventions, according to a new report from Healthgrades, the leading provider of information to help consumers make an informed decision about a physician or hospital. The findings are part of American Hospital Quality Outcomes 2013: Healthgrades Report to the Nation, which evaluates the performance of approximately 4,500 hospitals nationwide across nearly 30 of the most common conditions and procedures.

Beebe Medical Center was also found to be the Best in Delmarva for:

• Total Knee Replacement for Two Years in a Row (2012-2013)
• Total Hip Replacement for Two Years in a Row (2012-2013)
• Back & Neck Surgery (except Spinal Fusion) for Two Years in a Row
  (2012-2013)
• for Back & Neck Surgery (Spinal Fusion) for Two Years in a Row
  (2012-2013)
• Overall Orthopedic Services for Two Years in a Row (2012-2013)
• Joint Replacement  for Two Years in a Row (2012-2013)
• Spine Surgery for Two Years in a Row (2012-2013)
• Cardiology Services in 2013
• Coronary Interventional Procedures for Two Years in a Row (2012-2013)

Patient outcomes are important to consumers making choices today about hospitals. According to new research conducted by Harris Interactive for Healthgrades, 86% of Americans in 27 top designated market areas agree they would be more likely to choose—or not choose—a hospital if they could learn ahead of time the mortality rates for a certain procedure.

Beebe Medical Center was also recognized for the following clinical achievements:

America's Best 100 Hospitals

• One of HealthGrades America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Coronary Intervention™ for 2 Years in a Row (2012-2013)
• One of HealthGrades America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Orthopedic Surgery™ for 2 Years in a Row (2012-2013)
• One of HealthGrades America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Joint Replacement™ for 2 Years in a Row (2012-2013)
• One of HealthGrades America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Spine Surgery™
  for 2 Years in a Row (2012-2013)

Cardiac

• Recipient of the HealthGrades Coronary Intervention Excellence Award™ for 2 Years in a Row (2012-2013)
• Ranked Among the Top 5% in the Nation for Coronary Interventional Procedures for 2 Years in a Row (2012-2013)
• Ranked #1 in DE for Cardiology Services in 2013
• Ranked #1 in DE for Coronary Interventional Procedures for 3 Years in a Row (2011-2013)
• Ranked Among the Top 5 in DE for Overall Cardiac Services for 5 Years in a Row (2009-2013) (Ranked 2 in 2013)
• Ranked Among the Top 5 in DE for Cardiology Services for 5 Years in a Row (2009-2013) (Ranked 1 in 2013)
• Ranked Among the Top 5 in DE for Coronary Interventional Procedures for 3 Years in a Row (2011-2013) (Ranked 1 in 2013)
• Five-Star Recipient for Cardiology Services in 2013
• Five-Star Recipient for Coronary Interventional Procedures for 3 Years in a Row (2011-2013)

Orthopedic

• Recipient of the HealthGrades Orthopedic Surgery Excellence Award™
  for 7 Years in a Row (2007-2013)
• Recipient of the HealthGrades Joint Replacement Excellence Award™
  for 4 Years in a Row (2010-2013)
• Recipient of the HealthGrades Spine Surgery Excellence Award™
  for 4 Years in a Row (2010-2013)
• Ranked Among the Top 5% in the Nation for Overall Orthopedic Services
  for 4 Years in a Row (2010-2013)
• Ranked Among the Top 5% in the Nation for Joint Replacement for 4 Years
  in a Row (2010-2013)
• Ranked Among the Top 5% in the Nation for Spine Surgery for 3 Years in
  a Row (2011-2013)
• Ranked #1 in DE for Overall Orthopedic Services for 7 Years in a Row
  (2007-2013)
• Ranked #1 in DE for Joint Replacement for 4 Years in a Row (2010-2013)
• Ranked #1 in DE for Spine Surgery for 3 Years in a Row (2011-2013)
• Ranked Among the Top 5 in DE for Overall Orthopedic Services for 10
  Years in a Row (2004-2013) (Ranked 1 in 2013)
• Ranked Among the Top 5 in DE for Joint Replacement for 10 Years in a Row (2004-2013) (Ranked 1 in 2013)
• Ranked Among the Top 5 in DE for Spine Surgery for 4 Years in a Row
  (2010-2013) (Ranked 1 in 2013)
• Five-Star Recipient for Overall Orthopedic Services for 7 Years in a Row
  (2007-2013)
• Five-Star Recipient for Joint Replacement for 10 Years in a Row
  (2004-2013)
• Five-Star Recipient for Spine Surgery for 4 Years in a Row (2010-2013)
• Five-Star Recipient for Total Knee Replacement for 10 Years in a Row
  (2004-2013)
• Five-Star Recipient for Total Hip Replacement for 4 Years in a Row
  (2010-2013)
• Five-Star Recipient for Hip Fracture Treatment for 7 Years in a Row
  (2007-2013)
• Five-Star Recipient for Back and Neck Surgery (except Spinal Fusion)
  for 4 Years in a Row (2010-2013)
• Five-Star Recipient for Back and Neck Surgery (Spinal Fusion) for 4
  Years in a Row (2010-2013)

Pulmonary

• Recipient of the HealthGrades Pulmonary Care Excellence Award™ for 3 Years in a Row (2011-2013)
• Ranked Among the Top 10% in the Nation for Overall Pulmonary Services for 3 Years in a Row (2011-2013)
• Ranked #1 in DE for Overall Pulmonary Services for 2 Years in a Row (2012-2013)
• Ranked Among the Top 5 in DE for Overall Pulmonary Services for 8 Years in a Row (2006-2013) (Ranked 1 in 2013)
• Five-Star Recipient for Overall Pulmonary Services for 3 Years in a Row
  (2011-2013)
• Five-Star Recipient for Treatment of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease for 3 Years in a Row (2011-2013)
• Five-Star Recipient for Treatment of Pneumonia for 8 Years in a Row
  (2006-2013)

Vascular

• Ranked #1 in DE for Vascular Surgery in 2013
• Ranked Among the Top 5 in DE for Vascular Surgery in 2013
  (Ranked 1 in 2013)
• Five-Star Recipient for Carotid Surgery in 2013

Critical Care

• Ranked Among the Top 5 in DE for Critical Care for 4 Years in a Row
  (2010-2013) (Ranked 3 in 2013)
• Five-Star Recipient for Treatment of Sepsis for 4 Years in a Row
  (2010-2013)
  

Women's Health

• Recipient of the HealthGrades Women's Health Excellence Award™ for
  2 Years in a Row (2011-2012)
• Ranked Among the Top 5% in the Nation for Women's Health for 2
  Years in a Row (2011-2012)
• Five-Star Recipient for Women's Health for 2 Years in a Row (2011-2012)

According to the Healthgrades study, the risk of death is 75% lower at hospitals receiving 5 stars compared to 1-star rated hospitals. Patients also have a 61% lower risk of complications at 5-star hospitals compared to 1-star rated hospitals.  The 2013 performance outcomes are now available free to the public at www.healthgrades.com.

For its 2013 hospital quality outcomes analysis, Healthgrades evaluated approximately 40 million Medicare hospitalization records for services performed from 2009 through 2011 at approximately 4,500 short-term, acute care hospitals nationwide. Healthgrades independently measures hospitals based on data that hospitals submit to the federal government. No hospital can opt in or out of being measured, and no hospital pays to be measured. Mortality and complication rates are risk adjusted, which takes into account each hospital’s unique population (demographics and severity of illness).

The American Hospital Quality Outcomes 2013: Healthgrades Report to the Nation, including the complete methodology, can be found at www.healthgrades.com/quality.

Tunnell Cancer Center Earns National Recognition for Quality

The Commission on Cancer (CoC) of the American College of Surgeons has granted a Three-Year Accreditation with Commendation to the Tunnell Cancer Center at Beebe Medical Center. This is the third time that Tunnell Cancer Center has gained the coveted Commendation designation as part of the Certificate of Accreditation, although Tunnell Cancer Center has consistently received accreditation from the Commission on Cancer.

Beebe Medical Center Recognized By the Premier Healthcare Alliance for High-Quality Patient Care, Operational Efficiency

Beebe Medical Center is one of 21 hospitals and three health systems of the 3,788 eligible hospitals and 346 health systems nationwide — the top 1% — that have been recognized with this Premier Award.

The award recognizes leading healthcare organizations that efficiently provide outstanding patient care and consistently set the standard in clinical excellence. The AFQ's performance-based criteria — including clinical quality outcomes, resource utilization, and clinical process indicators — measures top performers at the overall hospital level.

"This recognition is a credit to everyone at Beebe Medical Center," says Jeffrey M. Fried, FACHE, President/CEO of Beebe Medical Center. "It reflects the commitment and dedication of our Board, our physicians, our clinical staff, and all employees who work to continually improve the quality and safety of the care that we bring to our community.

"The award recognizes the attention to detail that has made our clinical outcomes among the best in the nation," he continues. "We have established protocols following best-practice guidelines to maintain high quality standards. For example, we participate in the Surgical Care Improvement Project, a national quality improvement program aimed at significantly reducing surgical complications. We use feedback from this program and the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program to monitor our outcomes and identify opportunities for improvement. We also have initiated strict infection prevention protocols and best-practice measures to improve the care and treatment of patients with pneumonia, heart failure, and heart attack."

Premier is a performance improvement alliance of more than 2,300 U.S. hospitals and 67,000-plus other healthcare sites working together to achieve high-quality, cost-effective care. Owned by not-for-profit hospitals, Premier maintains the nation's most comprehensive repository of clinical, financial, and outcomes information and operates a leading healthcare purchasing network. A world leader in helping deliver measurable improvements in care, Premier works with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the United Kingdom's National Health Service North West to improve hospital performance. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Premier also has offices in San Diego, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. www.premierinc.com

Tunnell Cancer Center Earns National Achievement Award

Beebe Medical Center's Tunnell Cancer Center has been named a recipient of the 2008 Commission on Cancer Outstanding Achievement Award for excellence. Tunnell Cancer Center is one of only 95 cancer programs across the nation, and the only one in Delaware, to earn this prestigious award from the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer (CoC).

The CoC Outstanding achievement award recognizes the significant commitment by the medical staff, administration, and personnel for providing high-quality cancer care and meeting and exceeding the standards set by the CoC Approvals Program, stated Stephen B. Edge, MD, FACS, CoC Chairman. Tunnell Cancer Center not only met the basic standards of the accreditation program, but excelled in seven areas where Commendation has been awarded.

Earlier in 2009, the Commission granted Tunnell Cancer Center a Three-Year Approval with Commendation. It was the second time in a row that Tunnell Cancer Center has gained the coveted Commendation designation, although Tunnell Cancer Center has consistently received approval from the Commission. Read full news release. >

Quality Insights of Delaware Honors Beebe

Quality Insights of Delaware, the state's Medicare quality improvement organization, honored Beebe Medical Center and Beebe Home Health for outstanding performance in improving the quality of care. Beebe Medical Center received two Golden Apple awards. The Golden Apple Award for Quality Leadership was for Beebe Medical Center's progress towards implementing a closed-loop bar-coding system for medication administration. In this system, the wristbands worn by patients in the hospital will include bar codes with the patient's demographic information that work in concert with computerized medication information. This system ensures that medications being given throughout the patient's hospital stay are the correct ones.

Beebe Medical Center also earned the Quality Partner Golden Apple Award for outreach efforts to help community physicians implement electronic health records. Beebe Medical Center has developed a strategic communication effort to help physicians work together with the medical center to develop and implement an electronic medical record system that will connect physicians' offices with the medical center's records.

Beebe Home Health was recognized with a Quality Associate Award for participation in healthcare quality improvement activities. These activities included reducing inpatient re-hospitalization, improving ambulation, managing pain that interferes with activity, and improving the culture of the organization. Beebe Home Health collaborated with Quality Insights of Delaware and implemented multiple best practices to improve the quality of care.

Delaware Quality Award

Beebe Medical Center received the 2006 W.L. (Bill) Gore Award for Excellence, a distinction based on the Malcolm Baldrige Award Criteria. The recognition honors organizations that excel in leadership, strategic planning, customer focus, management, and results.

In presenting the award, the governor called Beebe a "most esteemed leader" in the state's medical and business community and noted that Beebe is the first hospital in Delaware to win the award.