Joint Commission Names South Nassau Communities Hospital a “Top Performer on Key Quality Measures®”

Oceanside, NY, December 25, 2013 --(PR.com)-- The Joint Commission recently named South Nassau Communities Hospital a Top Performer on Key Quality Measures® for its exemplary performance in using evidence-based clinical processes that are shown to improve care for certain conditions. The hospital was recognized for its achievement on the following measure sets: heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia and surgical care.

"In achieving this recognition, we continue to demonstrate to our patients and the communities we serve that we are unrelenting in our commitment and mission to provide high-quality, standard-setting healthcare services," said Richard J. Murphy, president and CEO of South Nassau.

South Nassau is one of 1,099 hospitals in the U.S. to earn the distinction of Top Performer on Key Quality Measures. The ratings are based on an aggregation of accountability measure data reported to The Joint Commission during the 2012 calendar year. The list of Top Performer organizations represents 33 percent of all Joint Commission-accredited hospitals reporting accountability measure performance data for 2012.

The Joint Commission Top Performer honor joins a multitude of honors for outstanding quality earned by South Nassau in 2013 including: American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer Outstanding Achievement Award; Joint Commission Advanced Certification for Primary Stroke Centers; American Heart Association/American Stroke Association Get With The Guidelines® Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award; HomeCare Elite™ listing South Nassau’s Home Care as one of the top home health care providers in the United States (for the eighth consecutive year); and Becker's Hospital Review list of "100 Best Places to Work in Healthcare" (for the third consecutive year).

To achieve Top Performer on Key Quality Measures, South Nassau:

· achieved cumulative performance of 95 percent or above across all reported accountability measures;

· achieved performance of 95 percent or above on each and every reported accountability measure where there are at least 30 denominator cases; and

· had at least one core measure set that was a composite rate of 95 percent or above, and (within that measure set) all applicable individual accountability measures had to have a performance rate of 95 percent or above.

Each accountability measure represents an evidence-based practice – for example, giving aspirin at arrival for heart attack patients, giving antibiotics one hour before surgery, and providing a home management plan of care for children with asthma.