Rapides Regional Goes Platinum Again

ALEXANDRIA, La., May 19, 2009 – Rapides Regional Medical Center has received the Platinum Level 2008 Louisiana Hospital Quality Award from Louisiana Health Care Review Inc.

This is the second year in a row that RRMC has received the Platinum Award.

LHCR is the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization for Louisiana. The award was presented during the second annual Louisiana Health Care Quality Summit on May 18 in Baton Rouge.

Rapides Regional Medical Center was the only Rapides Parish hospital to receive a Platinum Level award.

“We were one of 30 hospitals in the state who were on top in improvement of core measures,” said Babson Fresh, M.D., Rapides Regional Medical Center’s associate medical director. “There were 93 hospitals who received awards. But it’s much more difficult for a large hospital to receive one of these awards than a small hospital because of the volume of patients we see.”

The award recognizes those facilities that are actively engaged in improving care in one or more of the following areas: • Heart attack • Congestive heart failure • Pneumonia • Surgical care

To be eligible for the award, hospitals must have achieved improvement of at least 25 percent for each applicable topic or maintained a high level of performance greater than 90 percent during the 2006 calendar year.

The clinical topics measured for the awards have been designated as national health care priorities by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Staff members from Rapides Regional Medical Center have been working with quality improvement specialists from Louisiana Health Care Review Inc. to use proven, evidence-based practices to improve care for their patients.

“Louisiana Health Care Review is pleased to recognize hospitals such as Rapides Regional for achieving improvement in patient care. More importantly, we know that utilizing proven standards of care can save lives, and we applaud the work of these hospital teams in their dedication to quality patient care for the people of their community,” said LHCR Chief Executive Officer Gary Curtis.

“As the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization for Louisiana we are committed to working with providers in all healthcare settings to improve the health and healthcare of Louisianans.”