↑ Grab this Headline Animator

Highline Medical Center Earns National Quality Award Hip and Knee Replacement...

Highline Medical Center has been recognized by the Premier healthcare alliance as a top performer nationwide in hip and knee replacement procedures. The award is based on performance-based criteria including clinical quality outcomes, clinical process indicators, and resource utilization outcomes.

"We continue to focus on developing specific programs to improve clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction in all aspects of care and remain determined to become one of the best organizations in the Puget Sound region," Highline Medical Center CEO Mark Benedum said. "Receiving the distinguished Premier Quality Award for providing highest quality care in a cost effective manner is proof of our progress toward that goal."

Highline has one of the lowest complication rates in the nation for patients undergoing hip and knee replacement surgery. Highline is also one of the most efficient hospitals in terms of surgical resource allocation and maintains one of the highest compliance rates with the Surgical Care Improvement Program national patient safety measures.

Highline Medical Center is the only Puget Sound organization to earn a 2007 Premier Quality Award. Hospitals that submitted data to Premier's Perspective database -- the most comprehensive clinical, financial and operational comparative database in the nation -- between October 2005 and September 2006 were eligible to earn the 2007 Premier Quality Award. Highline was selected from a pool of 400 eligible hospitals.

Benedum said, "The award is a tribute to the teamwork of our physicians and staff," he said. "With hip and knee surgery, it starts with the orthopedic surgeons. They work closely with the anesthesiologists and collaborate with the nurses. Then, we have a physical rehabilitation program that is part of our Specialty Campus. It's a real advantage to our patients because all the services they need operate beneath a single umbrella."

Highline orthopedic surgeon John Lombardi, M.D. described the award as a great way to see how Highline compares nationally with patient outcomes. "This award objectively reflects the quality of care that we strive to achieve. We have minimized the risks of joint replacement to our patients at Highline to the degree that we are one of six hospitals nationally to achieve this award."While awards are great, Lombardi emphasized that what is important to the surgeon, surgical staff, and the hospital staff is that patients do well.

Scott Kennard, M.D., chairman of the anesthesiology department and operating room medical director at Highline Medical Center, said that the outcomes measured by Premier require that each member of the team performs consistently, uses hospital resources wisely, and works well together as a team. The result is that patients are happy with the service they receive and the experience they go through. Dr. Kennard said that much preparation is done to help patients get ready for hip or knee replacement surgery. "We explain carefully what's going to happen and why we suggest a specific plan of care," he said.

Kennard, who worked as an anesthesiologist at Providence Medical Center in Seattle for 18 years prior to joining Highline, observed, "It's great to work with a smaller facility that has the capabilities of earning national recognition. The Burien community has a jewel in its midst. This award really shows that Highline provides medical care that is as good -- if not better -- than at some larger hospitals."

About Highline Medical Center:

Highline Medical Center's (www.planetree.org), Highline Medical Center is committed to caring for each patient with genuine respect, understanding and compassion.

Highline Medical Center will celebrate its 50th anniversary of service to patients residing in West Seattle to Des Moines and from Burien to Tukwila in 2008. The organization changed its name from Highline Community Hospital to Highline Medical Center in 2005 to acknowledge its growth and progress from a community hospital to a comprehensive medical facility.To learn more, visit

↑ Grab this Headline Animator

---

This article has been robotically scanned and tagged by Prnewsnow with the following search tags. No human manipulation of these tags take place.
| Beast | Bene Yeshua | |

---

4899 readers online...

, Local News