St. Bernards Senior Health Clinic Receives AFMC Award

 

The St. Bernards Senior Health Clinic has earned a Platinum Award in the Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care’s annual Quality Awards program.

The award recognizes the physician office for use of electronic medical records, use of a health maintenance templates, use of e-prescribing and improvement in a list of core measures that serve as quality indicators. The core measures include things such as using antithrombotics and tracking complete lipid panels and controlling low density lipoprotein with patients diagnosed with ischemic vascular disease, identifying and controlling high blood pressure, preventive care and screening for tobacco use (including cessation intervention), preventive care and screening for influenza immunization and pneumonia vaccination, colorectal screening and mammography and other appropriate screenings.

The quality awards are designed to recognize improvement in individual healthcare organizations’ performance in AFMC’s quality improvement projects. The Platinum Award is given to physician offices that satisfy all four of the following criteria:

  • adoption of health information technology,
  • adoption and utilization of population and care management methods,
  • commitment to and participation in data reporting of quality initiatives and
  • improvement in nationally recognized clinical quality measures.

The award was presented at a recent dinner at AFMC’s annual Quality Conference in Hot Springs.For 40 years, through utilization review, quality improvement projects and public education, the Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care has worked to improve the health of Arkansans. Its mission is to promote excellence in health and healthcare through evaluation and education.

The St. Bernards Senior Health Clinic is dedicated to improving the lives of older adults in Northeast Arkansas by providing health services specifically for older patients. The clinic’s three geriatricians work with an interdisciplinary team of healthcare professionals to coordinate all aspects of patient care to help seniors achieve optimum health. Led by a board certified geriatrician, the team includes an advanced nurse practitioner, a registered nurse and a social worker who develop individualized treatment plans. It operates under the auspices of St. Bernards Senior Services Division.

The 2012 award is the ninth AFMC quality award the Senior Health Clinic has received since 2007.

The AFMC quality program recognizes excellence in healthcare.