News Releases

August 23, 2006
West Georgia Health System Earns Top Marks in Quality

ATLANTA – When is comes to your health, quality matters. And when it comes to quality, West Georgia Health System ranks among the best hospitals in the state. WGHS scored in the top 25 percent of Georgia hospitals for its performance in several clinical areas including, heart attack (myocardial infarction), heart failure, pneumonia, according to a recent analysis of hospital data compiled by the Partnership for Health and Accountability (PHA).

Kathy McWhorter, WGHS director of Performance Improvement, said the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations have designated these clinical areas as national health care priorities and require hospitals to submit data in these areas. The measures represent nationally recognized standards of care in these clinical areas and have been scientifically proven to increase the chance of positive patient outcomes. They are considered indicators of hospital quality and include widely accepted best practices such as giving aspirin to heart attack patients and prompt antibiotic treatment for pneumonia patients, McWhorter said.

Based on a methodology utilized in the Dartmouth Atlas, the analysis examines the performance of 135 hospitals in these three key clinical areas over a 24-month period (January 2004 through December 2005) and provides a weighted average for 10 quality indicators. With a score of 99.71 out of a possible 100, West Georgia Health System was one of 32 top-performing hospitals in the state.

“This study used the same criteria for all hospitals regardless of size or location. The residents in our community can be assured in knowing that they are receiving the same top-quality care they might receive at a larger metropolitan facility.”

According to GHA Executive Vice President Vi Naylor, West Georgia Health System’s performance is reflective of its commitment to patients and the culture of quality it has created. “Providing quality health care means doing the right thing, at the right time, in the right way, for the right person – and having the best possible results,” Naylor said. “West Georgia Health System’s leadership in this area will go a long way toward saving lives and improving care in Georgia.”

To view the complete PHA report, visit the web site at www.gha.org/pha/insights/2006/index.asp and click on “View your hospital report.” 

About PHA
PHA is a statewide program that brings together the Georgia Hospital Association, hospitals, providers, health care groups, payers, employers, and community leaders. The goal of PHA is to make health care better and safer by promoting the use of evidence-based guidelines or other best practices that reduce medication errors and significant patient safety issues (falls, bedsores, wrong site surgery). The program promotes
voluntary sharing, studying, and learning from others to reduce the risk of errors or adverse outcomes.

About GHA
Established in 1929, GHA is the state’s largest trade organization of hospitals and health systems providing education, research and risk management services to its more than 180 hospital and health system members. Additionally, it represents and advocates health policy issues benefiting Georgia’s citizens before the state legislature and U.S. Congress as well as before regulatory bodies.

About WGHS
West Georgia Health System, which opened as City-County Hospital in 1937, is the corporate backbone for health care provider services, which extend to residents of 12 counties in west Georgia and east Alabama. WGHS’ flagship division, West Georgia Medical Center is a designated rural referral center and is licensed for 276 acute-care beds. In addition to the medical center complex, the health system has a 150-bed skilled nursing facility (Florence Hand Home); a 112-bed nursing facility (Twin Fountains Home); a freestanding cancer treatment facility (Enoch Callaway Cancer Clinic); a freestanding department of cardiovascular medicine (Georgia Heart Clinic); and a freestanding, 16-bed hospice facility (Hospice LaGrange) located on its campus. In addition, WGHS operates a 32-station chronic renal dialysis unit (West Georgia Dialysis); and a home health care agency covering 4 counties (West Georgia Home Care).