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Reggi Veatch
Senior Communications Manager
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410-872-9646

Delmarva Foundation Excellence Award for Quality Improvement Presented
to Union Memorial Hospital for Second Consecutive Year
Union Memorial Hospital Scores Over 90% in National Inpatient Clinical Measures

Columbia, MD, September 25, 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 Union Memorial Hospital, located in Baltimore, Maryland.  Union Memorial Hospital is one of four hospitals in Maryland to win the 2008 award by utilizing outstanding quality improvement measures to ensure proper care to all patients.

“Union Memorial Hospital’s leadership has demonstrated their commitment to providing patients with high quality health care services by maintaining an outstanding record of performance excellence over the past two years,” said Carmen Tyler Winston, Vice President, Delmarva Foundation for Medical Care, Inc.  “Union Memorial’s significant and sustained quality improvement practices over the past year are credited to both committed individuals and a committed organization.  Delmarva encourages Union Memorial’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 merit the award, hospitals must meet or exceed the following criteria and requirements:

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

“The single most valuable asset here is our staff,” said Harrison J. Rider III, President, Union Memorial Hospital.  “Getting this award for the second consecutive year demonstrates that each member sets the bar high when it comes to patient care.  We are very proud of this achievement and we are committed to excellence.”

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

*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.