Western Baptist pneumonia care receives national recognition

Western Baptist Hospital’s pneumonia care has received national recognition for the second time since 2010.

It is featured on the cover of the May/June issue of The Joint Commission Benchmark, the bimonthly newsletter of the not-for-profit organization that accredits and certifies more than 19,000 healthcare organizations and programs in the U.S.

The cover article, entitled “Western Baptist Achieves High Compliance with Pneumonia Core Measures,” recognizes the hospital for scoring in the top 3 percent among more than 2,800 hospitals with 50 or more beds in seven pneumonia core measures.

“In terms of pneumonia care, Western Baptist Hospital is among the best,” the article said. “The organization achieved such high rates of compliance through a network of teams that utilize strong communication skills to make core measure compliance a hospital-wide responsibility.”

Kim Wrye, quality coordinator for Western Baptist, said the teams and their physician champions, are the key to success. “The teams are very persistent,” Wrye said.

The result is improved care for patients, including timely administration of appropriate antibiotics and preventative pneumonia and flu vaccinations.

In 2010, Western Baptist’s pneumonia care was featured on the national quality healthcare Web site, “WhyNotTheBest.org.”