Higgins General Hospital Named to Highest Level of Safety Leaders Circle
Saturday, December 21, 2013
Haralson County’s hometown hospital has been named to the Georgia Hospital Association’s (GHA) Hospital Engagement Network Safety Leaders Circle, which recognizes hospitals’ improvements in patient care for the third quarter of 2013. Higgins General Hospital is one of 29 hospitals in Georgia to place in the Elite Circle, the highest on the list. “This is the result of the hard work and diligence of our physicians, nurses and every other member of our patient care team,” said Michael Alexander, administrator of Higgins General Hospital. “Every day, they’re putting our patients first, making sure they receive the right care at the right time, every time.” Higgins General Hospital, a 25-bed critical access hospital, is part of Tanner Health System. The hospital participates in the GHA Hospital Engagement Network, an initiative begun last year that is part of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service’s Partnership for Patients. GHA, through its Partnership for Health and Accountability, is one of 26 organizations nationally to be awarded federal funding to coordinate the implementation of a series of projects with hospitals. The goals of these projects are to reduce hospital-acquired conditions by 40 percent and hospital readmissions by 20 percent by the end of 2013. According to data provided by GHA, Georgia hospitals have prevented almost 9,300 incidents of harm. To achieve these goals, there are major directives from Medicare and Medicaid regarding improved care in 10 focus areas, including areas related to hospital-acquired infections, transition of care and reduction of readmissions. As part of their participation in the GHA Hospital Engagement Network, hospitals selected two of these areas on which to focus in 2012. Scores for the Safety Leaders Circle are based on several criteria, including a database that measures hospitals’ improvement in their respective selected areas. “Thanks to the leadership and commitment of Higgins General Hospital, we have made great progress in achieving the significant life-saving goals of this important initiative,” said Earl Rogers, president of GHA. “We are proud to recognize the hard work of the hospital’s staff and applaud their efforts and commitment to ensuring the reduction of infections and readmissions.” The Partnership for Health and Accountability, formed in January 2000 and sponso red by the GHA, is a unique statewide collaborative that brings together healthcare providers with community agencies and individuals to achieve healthy communities. The partnership includes representation from groups like hospitals, physicians, state health officials, legislators and businesses.