Avera Sacred Heart Hospital Among 2011 Top Performing Hospitals, According To National Healthcare Alliance

Has been a top performer for the past three years

Yankton , S.D. – Avera Sacred Heart Hospital is among the 2011 Top Performing Hospitals in the Premier healthcare alliance’s national QUEST^® collaborative – one of only two hospitals in South Dakota to receive this distinction. This is the third year in a row that Avera Sacred Heart Hospital has achieved top performance.

“Being a QUEST member means redesigning the way we operate so that patients receive reliable, safe and efficient healthcare every time they come in,” said Pamela J. Rezac, Ed.D., Avera Sacred Heart President and CEO. “By collaborating to share our patient outcomes data and provider best practices with other members, we are leading the industry in driving the best results, which creates a competitive advantage.”

QUEST supports hospitals in delivering the best care possible, as well as sharing collaborative solutions to improve healthcare nationwide and influence public policies. Together, the current 278 QUEST members share ideas, strategies and proven practices to reduce variation, an approach that has been shown to improve care quality, safety and cost.

In just 30 months, QUEST members saved 25,235 lives and reduced healthcare spending by $2.85 billion through the delivery of high-quality, evidence-based care to 63,094 patients. In addition:

• Members’ observed mortality is 5 percent lower than non-participants when compared to what is expected.
• Member costs for inpatient care have increased only 4 percent, compared to a national cost increase of 21 percent.
• Members began increasing adherence to evidence-based care delivery in patient experience, harm and readmissions last year to support new improvement goals such as those proposed by the Partnership for Patients program.
• Premier will announce complete year three collaborative results in January.

Susan DeVore, Premier President and CEO said, “These hospitals challenged themselves to overcome process failures and excessive costs by measuring themselves against each other to drive success. The achievements made by QUEST members are remarkable as they continue to reveal what is possible in healthcare. Avera Sacred Heart Hospital is a true standard setter for top quality care in America, as they support the health of people in their community.”

An advisory panel of experts from the country’s top health organizations, such as the National Quality Forum, The Joint Commission and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, guide collaborative members to achieve success.

About the Premier healthcare alliance, Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient
Premier is a performance improvement alliance of more than 2,500 U.S. hospitals and 80,000-plus other healthcare sites using the power of collaboration to lead the transformation to high quality, cost-effective care. Owned by hospitals, health systems and other providers, 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 has worked with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the United Kingdom's National Health Service North West to improve hospital performance. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Premier also has an office in Washington.