St. Mary's Hospital Receives Quality Award for the Third Year in a Row

Rogers, AR (May 31, 2007) - St. Mary's Hospital has been honored by the Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care (AFMC) for the third year in a row as a recipient of it's most prestigious quality award. This year, St. Mary's Hospital received the 2007 Best Achievement Award, which recognizes the top two Prospective Payment System hospitals statewide that achieved the highest Appropriate Care Measure (ACM) rates for the combined second and third quarters of 2006.

Representatives from Mercy Health System of Northwest Arkansas were given the award at the AFMC's annual quality conference held in Little Rock on May 31.

Eligibility for the Best Achievement Award is dependent upon the healthcare providers' implementation of research-based best practice guidelines in the care of patients with heart attack, heart failure, inpatient pneumonia or surgical infection prevention.

AFMC develops and promotes cooperative quality improvement projects involving hospitals, nursing homes, home health agencies, physicians and other stakeholders in order to improve the healthcare provided for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. Working closely with healthcare entities as well as Arkansas communities, AFMC promotes high-quality, yet cost-effective healthcare for patients.

"Each day, we strive to provide our patients with the highest quality healthcare in the area," said George Flynn, CEO of Mercy Health System of Northwest Arkansas.

Mercy Health System of Northwest Arkansas, which owns and operates St. Mary's Hospital, has reinforced its commitment to patient safety and quality care by building them into the blueprint of its new medical campus, which is scheduled to open in 2008. When completed, the facility will incorporate state-of-the-art technology, strategic partnerships, a unique distribution model and new work processes to support exceptional patient care and provide a technologically advanced workplace to aid caregivers.

"Providing high-quality care to our patients is something of which we're very proud," said Catherine Kite, Vice President of Performance Management for St. Mary's Hospital. "It is truly a team effort. We are very fortunate to have such outstanding physicians, nurses, ancillary and quality management co-workers who are committed to providing world-class healthcare to our patients."

More information about the best practice guidelines upon which St. Mary's and other local facilities were evaluated is available through Hospital Compare (www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov), a consumer resource developed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Hospital Quality Alliance (HQA). The quality measures include appropriate inclusions and exclusions to enable a more scientific-based, "apples to apples" comparison of different hospitals on a national basis.

Mercy Health System of Northwest Arkansas, a not-for-profit faith-based health system, provides healthcare services to residents in northwest Arkansas and southwest Missouri. The System includes St. Mary's Hospital, The Gardens at Osage Terrace Assisted Living Facility and Mercy Medical Clinics in 22 locations throughout northwest Arkansas and southwest Missouri. The new medical campus at Interstate 540 and New Hope Road in southwest Rogers is slated for completion in January 2008. It will include a 350,000-square-foot medical center with 200 beds and a medical office building to accommodate 90 physicians.