HEBER SPRINGS, Ark. – Baptist Health Medical Center-Heber Springs has been recognized by iVantage Health Analytics and the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health (NOSORH) for overall excellence in outcomes and patient satisfaction, reflecting top performance among all rural acute-care hospitals in the nation.
“Baptist Health Medical Center-Heber Springs is honored to be one of the thirteen hospitals in Arkansas to be recognized by iVantage Health Analytics and the NOSORH,” said Ed Lacy, assistant vice president and administrator of BHMC-Heber Springs. “Our entire healthcare team is dedicated to a culture of continuous improvement across the entire spectrum of our mission to provide patient services and to respond to the changing health needs of Arkansans with Christian compassion. We are humbled and honored to be one of three hospitals to receive awards for excellence in two separate categories, outcomes and patient satisfaction. An award such as these proves that we’re upholding the vision, values and mission of Baptist Health.”
These rankings have been determined by the Hospital Strength INDEX, the industry’s most comprehensive and objective assessment of rural hospital performance. In partnership with NOSORH, iVantage Health Analytics has developed a data-driven program designed to identify excellence across a broad spectrum of indicators relevant to hospital performance and patient care. The Hospital Strength INDEX captures performance metrics for all rural and critical access hospitals. Leveraging data from public data sources, INDEX aggregates data from 66 individual metrics into three major categories and nine pillars to derive a single overall rating for each facility.
“These top quartile performers should take great pride in this recognition,” said Michael Topchik, national leader of the Chartis Center for Rural Health. “It showcases their commitment to continuous performance analysis and improvement. It’s an honor to help celebrate their achievement as they continue to serve their communities despite the many market, regulatory, and financial pressures they face.”
Some of BHMC-Heber Springs’ improvements that contributed to this award include: developing a plan to remodel the Emergency Department that increased patient flow and safety; the addition of a swing bed coordinator and case manager to expedite identifying patient discharge needs and addressing them in a timely manner; cross training all staff to float to areas of need within the hospital and manage census fluctuations; decreased readmission by following up with patients after discharge to see how they are doing from a clinical and personal perspective; and development of a daily Interdisciplinary Team meeting that discusses and follows up on all patients’ needs or concerns.
Baptist Health is an Arkansas-based, locally owned and managed, not-for-profit, faith-based healthcare system and Arkansas’ most comprehensive healthcare organization with more than 8,800 employees operating nine hospitals. For more information about Baptist Health, call Baptist Health HealthLine at 1-888-BAPTIST.