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The following press release was issued by UP Health System–Portage:
HANCOCK, MI (June 21, 2019) — On Monday, June 10 2019, UP Health System – Portage was announced the winner of two significant awards during the Quality Leadership Conference, which honors the 89 hospitals in 30 states owned by LifePoint Health. Of these 89 hospitals, UPHS – Portage was ranked best overall in Public Rating and Pay-for-Performance.
“Our top priority has been to ensure that our hospital provides patients with the highest quality of care possible,” UPHS – Portage Chief Executive Officer Randy Neiswonger said. “Everyone on our team should be acknowledged for these awards.”
The Pay-for-Performance award is based on the concept of value-based payment. The Federal Government provides incentive payments to hospitals for the quality of care they provide for patients. These programs are designed to make the quality of care better for patients and make hospital stays a better experience. Hospitals are gauged on measures of outcome such as patient experience, patient safety, efficiency and cost reduction, healthcare-associated infections, readmission reduction, hospital-acquired conditions, and mortality and complications.
The Public Rating Award combines several different measures of the quality of care patients report receiving, such as patient experience, effectiveness of care, readmission, and timeliness of care. Both of these awards are linked to patient satisfaction.
“When you combine our excellent patient outcomes with excellent patient experience results, everyone wins,” UPHS – Portage Director of Quality and Infection Prevention Nicole Clairmont said. “Every smiling face that the patient encounters here at UPHS – Portage contributes to our success. We have a great team!”
UPHS – Portage has implemented several different initiatives to ensure quality of care. For example, their team has implemented the “Foundational Five” Safety Behaviors, which include conducting daily briefs, debriefs, and huddles, using learning boards, and practicing executive patient safety rounding. Executive patient safety rounding helps ensure that leaders at every level of the organization engage with staff, physicians, patients, and families about quality and patient safety. UPHS – Portage has also implemented bedside shift reporting to help ensure clear communication, reduce the risk of errors, and maintain consistency of care during shift changes.
“Our front line staff consistently provides outstanding patient care, excellent patient experience, and consistently supports our mission of Making Communities Healthier,” Chief Nursing Officer Ryan Heinonen said.
