(WYNNEWOOD, PA, June 12, 2008)  Today Lankenau Hospital announced its recognition by Premier healthcare alliance as a winner of the Premier Award for Quality (AFQ). The award follows other recent national distinctions as a 100 Top Hospital for cardiovascular care by Thomson for a third year in a row; and as a recipient of the Distinguished Hospital Award™ for Clinical Excellence by HealthGrades for a third consecutive year.

AFQ recognizes leading healthcare organizations that efficiently provide outstanding patient care and consistently set the standard in clinical excellence nationwide. This award is different from many other quality awards because AFQ considers all acute care inpatient facilities in the country that submit data to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the CMS Hospital Compare.

“The quality of care we give to our patients and to their safety each day is job one for us,” said Lankenau Hospital President Elaine Thompson, PhD. “We take pride in our ongoing efforts as a hospital team to improve how we deliver that care. This award affirms the outstanding work and dedication of our physicians, nurses and staff.” 

Dr. Thompson and Dr. Robert Benz, Lankenau Hospital’s Medical Staff President, accepted the award at the 2008 Premier Annual Breakthroughs Conference & Exhibition held from June 10-13 in Nashville, Tenn.

“The Award for Quality differentiates its winners as industry leaders by recognizing clinical excellence in both quality of care and operational efficiency,” said Stephanie Alexander, senior vice president of Premier Healthcare Informatics. “Premier is pleased to honor this elite group of hospitals for the high quality of patient care they offer to improve the health of their communities.”

Using MedPar 2006 data, Quality and Efficiency Indexes were calculated for 62 disease groups and at the overall hospital level. Quality was measured by the incidence of three adverse outcomes: mortality, morbidity and complications, which are combined into a single Quality Index using the preference weightings from the Corporate Hospital Rating Project (CHRP). The efficiency index was generated using length of stay to proxy for resource utilization.

Acute care facilities attaining the top one percent designation are identified as having scores in the top two quintiles for process of care and in 10 out of 62 disease groups and at the overall hospital level for quality and efficiency.  Additionally, hospitals had measures for quality and efficiency that were equal to or exceeded expected outcomes.

Additional information about the AFQ and related methodology can be found at: http://www.premierinc.com/about/news/awards/award-for-quality/index.jsp.

About Premier Inc., 2006 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient
Serving more than 2,000 U.S. hospitals and 50,000 other healthcare sites, the Premier healthcare alliance and its members are transforming healthcare together. Owned by not-for-profit hospitals, Premier operates one of the leading healthcare purchasing networks and the nation's most comprehensive repository of hospital clinical and financial information. A subsidiary operates one of the nation's largest policy-holder owned, hospital professional liability risk-retention groups. A world leader in helping healthcare providers deliver dramatic improvements in care, Premier is working with the United Kingdom's National Health Service North West and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to improve hospital performance. Headquartered in San Diego, Premier has offices in Charlotte, N.C., Philadelphia and Washington. For more information, visit www.premierinc.com.

About Lankenau Hospital
Established in 1860, Lankenau Hospital is a 331-bed acute-care non-profit teaching hospital with an on-site affiliated institute for medical research. The hospital’s nationally recognized Heart Center provides a full range of cardiovascular care including cardiac surgery, cardiac catheterization, electrophysiology, and a heart failure program. Other services include a state of the art Cancer Center offering clinical research trials through our NCI-designated Community Clinical Oncology Program (CCOP),  a world class Comprehensive Rectal Cancer Center, a Level III NICU, a Kidney Transplant Program and an accredited Sleep Medicine Center. Lankenau is equipped with the latest technology to diagnose disease and aid in treatment, including PET scanning the daVinci Surgical System and 3T MRI.  We are the birthplace to more than 2200 babies each year and serve the community through many education, prevention and early detection programs. At the core of our mission is our commitment to teaching the physicians of tomorrow. That commitment was solidified when we opened The Walter and Leonore Annenberg Conference Center for Medical Education serving as a  hub for physician education across the region. Lankenau outpatient services can also be accessed at the Main Line Health Center—Lawrence Park. For more information, visit www.mainlinehealth/lh.org.

Published:6-13-2008