Methodist South Hospital announced it has been recognized by the Premier healthcare alliance with the 2007 Premier Award for Quality for excellence in the care of patients in the area of Maternal and Neonatal Care (Pregnancy).

Michael Ugwueke, DHA, FACHE, administrator and chief executive officer of Methodist South Hospital, accepted the award on June 19 at the 2007 Premier Annual Breakthroughs Conference & Exhibition in Orlando.

“As the only hospital in the State to receive this coveted award in maternal and neonatal care, it really validates the exceptional care that our associates provide for all our patients everyday. We are honored to be considered an industry leader in obstetrical services by an external organization like Premier based on quality and efficiency” said Dr. Ugwueke.

Awarded in six clinical areas, the Premier Award for Quality is based on quality and cost data regularly submitted to Premier for reporting and benchmarking purposes. The award is distinguished by its consideration of performance-based criteria, including clinical quality outcomes, clinical process indicators and resource utilization outcomes.

“Hospitals that win the Premier Award for Quality deliver the highest quality of care in a cost-effective way,” said Stephanie Alexander, senior vice president and general manager of Premier Healthcare Informatics. “Congratulations to all of them for delivering excellent patient care by using best practices and evidence-based decision- making.”

Clinical areas considered for the 2007 Premier Award for Quality are Hip and/or Knee Replacement Procedures, Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG), Heart Failure (HF), Pneumonia (PN), Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI) and Maternal and Neonatal Care (Pregnancy).

Three winners were picked in each category for each hospital type from an eligible pool of nearly 400 Premier hospitals. Hospitals that submitted data to Premier's Perspective™ database, the most comprehensive clinical, financial and operational comparative database in the nation, between October 2005 and September 2006 were eligible to receive the 2007 Premier Award for Quality.

About Premier, 2006 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient
Serving 1,700 hospitals and more than 46,500 other healthcare sites, Premier is the largest healthcare alliance in the United States dedicated to improving patient outcomes while safely reducing the cost of care. Owned by not-for-profit hospitals, Premier operates the nation's largest healthcare purchasing network, the most comprehensive repository of hospital clinical and financial information and one of the largest policy-holder owned, hospital professional liability risk-retention groups in healthcare. Headquartered in San Diego, Premier has offices in Charlotte, N.C. and Washington. For more information, visit www.premierinc.com.

About Methodist South Hospital

Methodist South Hospital serves the citizens of South Memphis and surrounding areas.  This acute care hospital includes a maternity center, a cancer center, a critical care unit, a same-day surgery unit and a complete array of outpatient services.  The 200-bed Methodist South Hospital also offers state-of-the-art cardiac services, including cardiac catheterization, open-heart surgery.

Methodist Healthcare is an integrated healthcare delivery system based in Memphis, Tenn.  Founded in 1918 by The United Methodist Church to help meet the growing needs for quality healthcare in the Mid-South, Methodist Healthcare has grown from one hospital into a seven-hospital system that also includes a home health agency, ambulatory surgery centers, and outpatient clinics serving the Memphis area.