St. Mary’s Health Care System in Athens has been named to the Georgia Hospital Association’s (GHA) Partnership for Health and Accountability (PHA) Core Measures Honor Roll. St. Mary’s is one of 23 hospitals in Georgia to be placed in the Trustee category, one of the highest on the list.

The honor roll is based on clinical data provided by the federal Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services (CMS), which administers the nation’s Medicare and Medicaid programs. The data was collected from October 2012 to September 2013.

Hospitals are required to submit care data to CMS, which details how well a hospital’s caregivers adhere to a list of Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) core measures. These measures are the clinical processes of care that are known to be the most effective methods of treatment for surgical patients and patients who have suffered heart attacks, pneumonia and heart failure.

For instance, a recommended treatment to help prevent a heart attack is to take aspirin either before or upon arrival at the hospital, as well as at discharge. It is recommended that surgery patients are given an antibiotic one hour prior to surgery to prevent infection. The VBP core measure is a composite measure that determines whether or not a patient received the right care at the right time. A hospital’s adherence to these recommended clinical practices usually leads to better outcomes. 

“We are pleased to recognize St. Mary’s commitment to patient safety,” said Earl V. Rogers, president of GHA. “Compliance with these important core measures ensures that every patient receives the best, most effective health care possible.”

“We constantly strive to maintain the highest standard of patient care,” said Don McKenna, President and CEO of St. Mary’s. “This honor validates the success of our efforts and is a tribute to the dedication of our physician partners and staff members who ensure that great patient care is made even better.”