Miami, FL (January 2, 2008) – FMQAI, the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization for Florida, presented its Hospital Participation Certificate to Mercy Hospital on December 11, 2007. Mercy Hospital was one of sixty-one Florida hospitals receiving the certificate for participating in national projects designed to improve the quality of health care of Medicare beneficiaries.
Participating hospitals made significant improvements in one or more national inpatient groups. The Appropriate Care Measure group focused on topics related to the care of the patient with heart attack, heart failure and pneumonia. The Surgical Care Improvement Project addressed preventive care immediately before, during and immediately after specific types of surgery. The Systems Improvement/Organizational Culture Change group assessed readiness for health information technology. The Rural Organizational Safety Culture Change group looked at specific patient safety concerns.
Staff and physicians at Mercy Hospital participated with FMQAI in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 8th Scope of Work Appropriate Care Measures Improvement Project.
“We are please to have received this Certificate for our participation with FMQAI,” said John E. Matuska, president and CEO of Mercy Hospital. “It reaffirms our dedication to providing the right care to every person every time and demonstrates our commitment to improving the quality of health care for Medicare beneficiaries.”
The participating hospitals were recognized for the initiatives they took to implement quality improvement interventions by using rapid cycle improvement, establishing internal infrastructures for continuous quality improvement and implementing system changes. The recognition awards were distributed to participating hospitals this week.
FMQAI works with Florida hospitals on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ quality improvement projects by offering hands-on resources, one-on-one training and staff education. The recognized hospitals participated with FMQAI on projects from January 2006 through August 2007.
“The lessons learned from the participating hospitals will provide valuable information that can be shared statewide with all CMS-participating hospitals,” said Gladys Worlds, FMQAI Hospital Quality Improvement Project Director. “This will allow Florida hospitals to continue to focus on quality improvement.”
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Mercy Hospital, a recipient of the prestigious Magnet™ award for nursing excellence, is Miami-Dade’s only Catholic Hospital. Established in 1950, it is sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph and a member of Catholic Health East. A 483-bed acute care hospital, staffed by over 700 physicians representing 27 medical specialties, its Centers of Excellence include: The Heart Center at Mercy Hospital, the Miami Cancer Center at Mercy Hospital, the Orthopaedic Institute at Mercy Hospital, and the Minimally Invasive Surgical Institute at Mercy Hospital. Mercy Hospital is located at 3663 S. Miami Avenue, Miami, FL.
For more information contact:
Arianne Rey
(305) 860-4634
Yvette Rodriguez
(305) 663-3543
