L.V. Stabler Memorial Hospital has been named a “top performer on key quality measures” by a national health care accreditation commission.

The Joint Commission, which accredits health care organizations across the country, recently recognized L.V. Stabler Memorial Hospital, along with 32 other Alabama hospitals and 1,098 others in the nation.

The designation marks the third year in a row that the hospital has been named to the list.

“We understand that what matters most to patients at L.V. Stabler Memorial Hospital is safe, effective care,” said Connie Nicholas, chief executive officer. “That’s why L.V. Stabler Memorial Hospital has made a commitment to accreditation and to positive patient outcomes through evidence-based care processes. L.V. Stabler Memorial Hospital is proud to receive the distinction of being a Joint Commission ‘Top Performer on Key Quality Measures.’”

The Joint Commission uses performance in evidence-based clinical processes including care for heart attack, pneumonia, surgery, children’s asthma, stroke, venous thromboembolism, inpatient psychiatric services, and immunizations for pneumonia and influenza to make its determinations.

L. V. Stabler Memorial Hospital was recognized for its surgical care and pneumonia care.

The “Top Performer” designation is awarded to hospitals “who attain and sustain excellence in clinical care,” according to the commission. Recognition in the Joint Commission’s “Top Performers on Key Quality Measures” program is based on an aggregation of accountability measure data reported to the Joint Commission during the previous calendar year. This year’s program results are based on data that were reported for 2012.

According to the report, a “Top Performer” must first achieve performance of 95 percent or above on a single, composite score that includes all the accountability measures for which it reports data to the Joint Commission, including measures that had fewer than 30 eligible cases or patients. Second, the hospital also must meet a
 95 percent performance threshold for every accountability measure for which it reports data to the Joint Commission, excluding any measures with fewer than 30 eligible cases or patients.

Of the more than 3,000 hospitals nationwide to report performance data in 2012, only 1,100 were named “Top Performers.”

As a result of the designation, L.V. Stabler Memorial Hospital will be recognized on the Joint Commission’s Qualitycheck.org website and in two of the commission’s publications: “The Joint Commission Perspectives” and “The Source.”

“L. V. Stabler Memorial Hospital and all the Top Performer hospitals have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to quality improvement and they should be proud of their achievement,” said Mark R. Chassin, M.D., FACP, M.P.P., MPH., president and chief executive officer, the Joint Commission.  “We have much to celebrate this year.  Nearly half of our accredited hospitals have attained or nearly attained the Top Performer distinction.  This truly shows that we are approaching a tipping point in hospital quality performance that will directly contribute to better health outcomes for patients.”