JACKSON, Miss. – The University of Mississippi Medical
Center is listed among the 100 top hospitals in the country
as designated by Thomson Healthcare, a national health care
information company.
The “100 Top Hospitals National Benchmarks for Success”
study identifies the nation’s top performing hospitals
using the two most recent years of data. Top performers are
selected from more than 3,000 hospitals across the country
and divided into five categories for evaluation. The
Medical Center is included in the major teaching hospitals
category – the only Mississippi hospital to make the Top
100 for 2007.
“It’s not an honor you apply for; that’s what makes it
special,” said Dr. Will Ferniany, CEO of University
Hospitals and Health System. “Being a Top 100 Hospital is a
reflection of the great physicians and staff at University
of Mississippi Health Care, who provide high-quality care
to our patients. It also reflects that we are an
efficiently run, high-quality hospital system.”
The recognition is wonderful for the health system, said
Dr. Dan Jones, vice chancellor for health affairs.
“I am grateful to Will Ferniany, other University of
Mississippi Health Care leaders, our entire staff, and
physician faculty for the hard work that has gone into this
recognition,” he said. “I am proud and grateful that now
Mississippians can receive care at one of America’s Top 100
Hospitals.”
Gov. Haley Barbour said the announcement “further
demonstrates that our commitment to provide UMMC with
appropriate resources and funding over the past four years
has helped Mississippi’s premier research and teaching
medical center gain recognition as one of the nation’s
finest health care facilities. I congratulate UMMC’s
outstanding leadership and staff on this tremendous
achievement.”
Ferniany and the UMHC are featured in the latest edition of
Modern Healthcare magazine for being among the 28 newcomers
to the list.
Thomson 100 Top Hospitals national award honors
organizations that rank at or above the top 90 percent on
hospital-wide performance when compared with its national
peers. The hospital is scored on eight performance
measures, including good patient outcomes, improved patient
safety, efficient hospital operations and effective
community service. Thomson uses public Medicare data, so
that all hospitals can be measured equally.
“Employers, health plans, and hospitals need to take note
that we have entered a new phase in driving transformation
of the health care industry,” said Jean Chenoweth, senior
vice president in the Center for Healthcare Improvement at
Thomson Healthcare. “Hospitals setting new levels of
patient safety are those with the highest balanced scores
across quality, efficiency and financial performance.”
The recognition is the product of a focused effort to cut
costs, improve quality and increase revenue, while
demonstrating to employees that they work in some of the
best hospitals in the country, Ferniany said.
“We set being named a Top 100 Hospital as one of our goals
20 months ago, and I am proud of our physicians and staff
that made this a reality,” he said.