SSM St. Joseph West Named Top Performer for Second Year

(The following press release was submitted by SSM St. Joseph West Hospital.)

The Joint Commission has recognized SSM St. Joseph Hospital West as one of the nation’s Top Performers on Key Quality Measures. This is the second consecutive year the hospital has received this honor and is one of only 244 hospitals to have done so. SSM St. Mary’s Health Center in Richmond Heights and SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center also received the recognition and along with St. Joseph Hospital West, are the only hospitals in the St. Louis region to earn this distinguished honor.

St. Joseph Hospital West is among 620 across the U.S. earning the distinction of Top Performers on Key Quality Measures for attaining and sustaining excellence in accountability measure performance. The hospital was recognized for exemplary performance in using evidence-based clinical processes that are shown to improve care for heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia and surgical care.

“We understand that what matters most to patients at our hospitals is safe, effective care,” says Chris Howard, president/CEO of SSM Health Care – St. Louis. “That’s why SSM Health Care – St. Louis made a commitment to achieving exceptional patient outcomes. 

We are proud of our employees and physicians at St. Joseph Hospital West, St. Mary’s Health Center and Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center for doing everything they can to provide the best care and best results for our patients. This national recognition is well-deserved as these hospitals continually improve in the areas of quality and safety reaching top-decile rankings for clinical care. The Joint Commission is one of the most highly respected organizations in the area of accreditation. We believe this honor demonstrates that community hospitals in our area rank very high in clinical quality performance.”

Each of the hospitals named as a Top Performer on Key Quality Measures was recognized for nearly perfect scores on key quality measures. The list of Top Performers increased by 50 percent from its debut last year and represents 18 percent of more than 3,400 eligible accredited hospitals reporting data. The Joint Commission will recognize the recipients in its “Improving America’s Hospitals” annual report, and on its Quality Check website (www.qualitycheck.org.)

The Joint Commission stresses that top performers are “leading the way nationally in using evidenced-based processes closely linked to positive patient outcomes.”