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For Further Information Contact:
Reggi Veatch
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Delmarva Foundation Excellence Award for Quality Improvement Presented
to St. Mary’s Hospital for Second Consecutive
St. Mary’s Hospital Scores Above 90% on 16 Key, Clinical
Performance Indicators

Columbia, Md. -- September 4, 2009 – The Delmarva Foundation for Medical Care, headquartered in Easton, Md. awarded the 2009 Excellence Award for Quality Improvement to St. Mary’s Hospital, Leonardtown, Md., in a ceremony at the hospital on September 3. St. Mary’s is one of four hospitals in Maryland to win the award so far this year.

“The staff at St. Mary’s Hospital 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 Nancy Jane Friedley, MD, Delmarva Medical Director. “Delmarva encourages St. Mary’s continued success in exceeding its already very high, internal quality improvement goals.”

The Delmarva Foundation Excellence Award for Quality Improvement recognizes individual hospital performance improvement in four national inpatient clinical areas: acute myocardial infarction (AMI), heart failure, surgical care, and pneumonia. To receive the award, hospitals must meet or exceed the following criteria:

• Score 90 percent or above on 16 required measures, such as giving aspirin to patients upon admission for AMI and administering the initial dose of antibiotics to patients with pneumonia within six hours of their arrival at the hospital
• Sustain the improvement for at least three consecutive quarters.

“I am so proud of the entire hospital and all of our physicians and employees who have worked so hard to reach this goal,” said St. Mary’s Hospital President and CEO Christine Wray. “It takes a great team, working together, to achieve this award.

*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.