Iowa Health -Des Moines continually receive awards for outstanding patient care and for playing outstanding roles in the communities. Below are a sampling of such awards collected in recent years
National Research Corporation Consumer Choice Award
Iowa Methodist Medical Center Named a Top U.S. Hospital; Receives 2008 Consumer Choice Award
National Research Corporation (NRC) has named Iowa Methodist Medical Center a 2008 Consumer Choice Award winner in the Des Moines MSA (or metro area). Now in its 12th year, this highly regarded healthcare award identifies the hospitals which healthcare consumers have chosen as having the highest quality and image in 190 markets throughout the U.S. For the 2008 Awards.
Consumer Choice Award recipients are determined by consumer perceptions on multiple quality and image ratings collected in NRC’s annual Healthcare Market Guide® study. Of the hospitals named by consumers in the study, the winning or co-winning facilities rank highest in their Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. The 2006/07 NRC Healthcare Market Guide study surveyed over 200,000 households representing 450,000 consumers in the U.S.
The Healthcare Market Guide is the nation's largest and most comprehensive study of its kind. No other study used to measure hospital performance and consumer preference contains more responses than NRC's annual study. The study has a margin of error of +/- 0.2 percent at a national level.
Iowa Health - Des Moines Receives Three Star Rating from UnitedHealth in Total Joint Replacement Care
Iowa Methodist Medical Center is pleased to announce it has received the designation of Three Stars, the highest possible rating, and has been named a UnitedHealth Premium® Total Joint Replacement Specialty Center. Iowa Methodist is the only hospital in Iowa to receive the Three Star rating.
"We are very proud that Iowa Methodist has been designated a UnitedHealth Total Joint Specialty Center for total knee procedures, total hip procedures, readmission rate for total hip and knee and inpatient mortality rate," said Eric Crowell, president and CEO of Iowa Health - Des Moines, parent company of Iowa Methodist. "This designation means we have met rigorous quality criteria based on nationally-recognized medical standards and expert advice."
The UnitedHealth Premium Total Joint Specialty Center designation at Iowa Methodist will last for a twelve-month period. UnitedHealthcare developed the UnitedHealth Premium Specialty Center designation program to give its members information about, and access to, hospitals meeting rigorous quality criteria. The designation is based on detailed information about specialized training, practice capabilities and proficiencies that we submit to UnitedHealthcare and is designed to help consumers make informed decisions about where to seek total joint replacement care.
"The UnitedHealth Premium designation means that our patients can depend on Iowa Health - Des Moines and by working together with Des Moines Orthopaedic Surgeons and The Iowa Clinic offer conscientious, reliable total joint replacement care," said Crowell.
Blue Distinction CentersSM for Complex and Rare Cancers
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Iowa has named the John Stoddard Cancer Center at Iowa Methodist Medical Center as a Blue Distinction Center for Complex and Rare CancersSM.
"Receiving this national award is a special honor to the employees and physicians who work at John Stoddard Cancer Center and Iowa Methodist," said Dan Kollmorgen, M.D., FACS, surgical oncologist and medical director at John Stoddard Cancer Center. "This award reflects not only our dedication to providing quality healthcare to our patients but also to the time, effort, technology and coordination required to treat these unusual and complex tumors. We will continue to pursue opportunities that will allow us even higher standards of care for cancer patients."
Blue Distinction Centers for Complex and Rare Cancers are facilities within participating Blue Cross and Blue Shield network service areas that offer comprehensive inpatient cancer care programs for adults, delivered by multidisciplinary teams with subspecialty training and distinguished clinical expertise in treating the following complex and rare subtypes of cancer:
The Blue Distinction Centers for Complex and Rare Cancers designation is focused primarily on multidisciplinary treatment planning and complex, major surgical treatments. The John Stoddard Cancer Center was chosen for having expertise in these complex and rare cancers: bladder; esophageal; gastric; pancreatic; and rectal.
Iowa Health - Des Moines Wins National Innovation Award
Iowa Health - Des Moines has been named a 2008 Alliance Innovation Award winner. The Alliance of Independent Academic Medical Centers (AIAMC) presents the award on an annual basis to its institutional members that best exemplify creative and innovative approaches to medical education and research which result in better patient outcomes. The institution selected for this prestigious honor must demonstrate an institution-wide change in one of the following categories:
Iowa Health - Des Moines was selected for their outstanding contribution to the 2007-08 AIAMC National Initiative: Improving Patient Care through Graduate Medical Education. Iowa Health - Des Moines was selected to participate based upon their demonstrated leadership in utilizing graduate medical education as a key driver to improve quality, patient safety, and the cost-effectiveness of care. "Both the public and our profession acknowledge that quality and safety efforts are falling short, and many hospitals and healthcare systems are seeking rapid improvements in patient care," stated Kimberly Pierce-Boggs, Executive Director of the AIAMC. She continued, "Those of us in academic medicine realize that residents play an important role in patient care at teaching institutions; however, residents are generally not visible in safety and quality efforts." The National Initiative has created resident-driven quality improvement efforts shared across multiple programs and systems across the United States. Iowa Health - Des Moines was honored for their key role in this successful venture which has resulted in improved patient outcomes.
Complex and rare cancers comprise approximately 15 percent of new cancer cases each year, making it difficult for patients to locate or research facilities with oncologists or surgical teams that are experienced in treating these specific malignancies.
HHS Recognizes Iowa Methodist Medical Center and Blank Children's Hospital with Medal of Honor for Outstanding Organ Donation
For the third year in a row, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded Iowa Methodist Medical Center and Blank Children's Hospital a medal of honor for their outstanding rate of organ donation. Staff members from Iowa Methodist and Blank Children's were recognized with this award today during a special ceremony by the Iowa Donor Network.
The Department of Health and Human Services presents awards to the nation's largest hospitals for their success in increasing organ donation rates at their facilities. The Department's Medal of Honor for Organ Donation is awarded annually to hospitals with 75 percent conversion rates over a continuous 12-month period. Only 97 hospitals nationwide received the Medal of Honor three consecutive times.
Iowa Methodist and Blank Children's came from a pool of 716 hospitals that met eligibility criteria. This represented hospitals with eight or more potential organ donors during the 26-month award period ending in June 2007 who sustained a donation rate of 75 percent or more from among eligible donors for at least a year.
The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City was also awarded with the Medal of Honor for its donation conversion rate above the national average of 75 percent and the triple crown for being above 75 percent conversion rate three years in a row. Four hospitals statewide were above the 75 conversion rate for a single year including Iowa Methodist, University Hospitals, Mercy in Des Moines and Sioux City.
Iowa Health - Des Moines Receives 2008 Iowa Better Business Bureau's Integrity Award
Iowa Health - Des Moines has been named the 2008 large business recipient of the Iowa Better Business Bureau's Integrity Award.
The Integrity Award recognizes organizations who best exemplify high ethical standards of behavior toward employees, customers, suppliers, users and the communities in which they do business. The Award also acknowledges organizations that have a long-standing history and reputation in the community as organizations that are ethical in their business practices. Finally, the Integrity Award recognizes those organizations whose marketing, advertising and communications reflect a true representation of what is being offered in the marketplace.
The Better Business Bureau is committed to exemplifying and improving standards of conduct in the marketplace and recognizes businesses that model these practices through the BBB Integrity Awards program.
"We give the Integrity Award to recognize businesses and organizations in our community that through self regulation truly reach the highest standards of business ethics and practices. We are very pleased to recognize Iowa Health - Des Moines," said Chris Coleman, president of the Iowa Better Business Bureau.
Iowa Health Bariatric Services Is Recognized For High-Quality Care
IowaHealth -Des Moines' Bariatric Services has been named an American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence®. The ASMBS's Center of Excellence designation recognizes surgical programs with a demonstrated track record of favorable outcomes in bariatric surgery.
To earn a 'Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence' designation, the Iowa Health Bariatric Services program underwent a series of detailed site inspections. All aspects of the program's surgical processes were closely examined and data on health outcomes was collected. The Surgical Review Corporation (SRC) formulates and establishes the rigorous standards with which Bariatric Surgery Centers of Excellence must comply, thoroughly inspects and evaluates each candidate for designation, and upon review recommends approval of designation for those physicians and facilities whose practices and outcomes meet the stringent program demands set forth by SRC and the ASMBS.
"A strong center of excellence program allows for standardization of the bariatric surgery experience nationwide," said Todd Eibes, M.D., bariatric surgeon and Medical Director for Iowa Health's Bariatric Services. "This allows patients to be sure that they are receiving the best bariatric care available, from an experienced team of medical professionals who routinely achieve the best outcomes possible."
A team approach is vital for patients undergoing bariatric surgery. "This designation recognizes our commitment to excellence in all aspects of our program from our entire team of professionals," said Teresa LaMasters, M.D., bariatric surgeon for Iowa Health. "This begins with our pre-operative educational seminars, continues through surgery, and is maintained through lifelong follow-up and support."
Iowa Health - Des Moines Bariatric Services is located at Lakeview Medical Park, 6000 University Ave, Suite 300, in West Des Moines. Bariatric surgeries are performed at Iowa Methodist Medical Center. Each month, the Center offers free, no-obligation education sessions for people interested in finding out more about weight loss surgery options. Iowa Health's bariatric surgery team includes a full time dietitian, psychiatric counselor, nurse coordinator, physician assistant and two board-certified bariatric surgeons.
