FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For Further Information Contact:
Reggi Veatch
Senior Communications Manager
veatchr@dfmc.org
410-872-9646

St. Mary’s Hospital Recognized
as 2008 Delmarva Foundation Excellence Award Winner
St. Mary’s Hospital Scores Over 90% in National Inpatient Clinical Measures

Columbia, MD, September 24, 2008 –The Delmarva Foundation for Medical Care (DFMC), the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) for Maryland, recently awarded the 2008 Delmarva Foundation Excellence Award for Quality Improvement to St. Mary’s Hospital, located in Leonardtown, Maryland.  St. Mary’s Hospital is one of two hospitals in Maryland to win this award by demonstrating outstanding quality improvement measures to ensure proper care to all patients.

“Delmarva is proud to recognize St. Mary’s as the 2008 recipient of the Delmarva Foundation Excellence Award for Quality Improvement,” said Nancy Friedley, MD, Medical Director, Delmarva Foundation for Medical Care, Inc.  “St. Mary’s has demonstrated significant and sustained quality improvement practices over the past year by receiving high marks for treating heart attacks, congestive heart failure, and pneumonia patients.  Delmarva encourages St. Mary’s continued success toward future quality improvement goals.”

The Delmarva Foundation Excellence Award for Quality Improvement recognizes individual hospital performance improvement in the four national inpatient clinical areas – Acute Myocardial Infarction, Heart Failure, Surgical Care Improvement and Pneumonia.  To receive the award, hospitals must meet or exceed the following criteria and requirements:

• Improved individual performance measure rate to 90 percent or above on the 11 required measures.
• Sustained the improvement for at least three consecutive quarters.

“This award is a testament to St. Mary’s Hospital’s commitment to quality care,” said President and Chief Executive Officer, Christine R. Wray. “We are especially proud that everyone on our team has worked together so well to support our mission of becoming the leaders in healthcare for Southern Maryland.”

For more information about the award, visit www.mdqio.org or www.smhwecare.com.

*Media Note: A high resolution image of the award presentation is available upon request.

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About Delmarva Foundation for Medical Care, Inc.
Delmarva Foundation for Medical Care, Inc. (DFMC) is the Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) for Maryland.  DFMC is under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), to improve the quality of health care for Maryland’s 730,000 plus Medicare beneficiaries.  Delmarva provides a range of services, including the development of interventional processes, convening healthcare organizations and stakeholders, fostering the spread of clinical or community practices that improve patient safety and healthcare delivery, and lessening the healthcare disparities that exist in our healthcare system. DFMC has offices located in both Columbia, Maryland and Easton, Maryland.  For more information, visit www.mdqio.org.