2009 NQF National Quality Healthcare Award
Goes to Memorial Hermann

WASHINGTON, DC. February 2, 2009 – The National Quality Forum (NQF) announced today that Memorial Hermann Healthcare System is the winner of the 2009 NQF National Quality Healthcare Award. As a leading advocate for improving the quality of healthcare in America, NQF presents the Quality award each year to exemplary healthcare organizations that are role models for achieving meaningful, sustainable quality improvement in healthcare. The National Quality Healthcare Award is presented in partnership with Modern Healthcare and Studer Group.

The National Quality Healthcare Award will be presented to Memorial Hermann at a gala event on May 19, 2009, in Washington DC.

“NQF is proud to make this award to Memorial Hermann Healthcare System for its extraordinary efforts to improve quality and patient safety and reduce disparities in its healthcare systems,” said NQF President and CEO Janet Corrigan. “In a remarkable group of applicants Memorial Hermann stood out as true leader in its commitment to quality in healthcare.”

NQF is a unique, multi-stakeholder, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of American healthcare by setting national priorities and goals for performance improvement, endorsing national consensus standards for measuring and publicly reporting on performance, and promoting the attainment of national goals through education and outreach programs.

Criteria for the 2009 NQF National Quality Healthcare Award included:

* Effective prioritization of performance improvement goals
* Well-designed and deployed “dashboard” to measure and manage whole system performance
* Commitment to transparency
* Data-driven improvement of chronic care, with an emphasis on care coordination and disparities reduction
* Demonstrated results on publicly reported performance measures

“Memorial Hermann Healthcare System is honored to be the recipient of the prestigious 2009 NQF National Quality Healthcare Award. It is a wonderful recognition of our employees' and medical staff physicians’ dedication to ensuring that patients benefit from the best possible clinical outcomes with exceptional patient care experiences," says Dan Wolterman, Memorial Hermann President & CEO. "In order to consistently deliver such care, they embraced a new culture based on individual accountability and breakthrough innovation. This has led to a relentless focus on quality and patient safety. I'm proud of Memorial Hermann's achievements and the impact they are having on the lives of our patients."

The National Quality Healthcare Award was created in 1993 as the first award of its kind to recognize outstanding quality-driven healthcare organizations. For 16 years, first through the National Committee for Quality Health Care and now through the National Quality Forum, the award has provided encouragement for improvements in quality through public recognition of organizations' accomplishments.

The National Quality Forum (NQF)

The mission of the National Quality Forum is to improve the quality of American healthcare by setting national priorities and goals for performance improvement, endorsing national consensus standards for measuring and publicly reporting on performance, and promoting the attainment of national goals through education and outreach programs. NQF, a non-profit organization with diverse stakeholders across the public and private health sectors, was established in 1999 and is based in Washington, DC.

About Memorial Hermann

An integrated health system, Memorial Hermann is known for world-class clinical expertise, patient-centered care, leading edge technology, and innovation. Memorial Hermann serves the greater Houston community through 11 hospitals and many specialty programs and services, including three premier Heart & Vascular Institutes, TIRR|Memorial Hermann, Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital, a Sports Medicine Institute, the Mischer Neuroscience Institute, seven comprehensive Cancer Centers, 27 sports medicine and rehabilitation centers, a substance abuse treatment center and dozens of other specialty and outpatient centers. Memorial Hermann operates one of two level 1 trauma centers in Houston and provides the Life Flight air ambulance program as well as the city’s only burn treatment center. To learn more, visit www.memorialhermann.org, or call 713.222.CARE.

Presented by:
Gary Yates, MD - Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer Sentara Healthcare

Bill Corley - President, Community Health Network

Stephen Muething, MD - Assistant Vice-President of Patient Safety
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center