Madison, Wis. – St. Mary’s Hospital is stepping up its efforts to make health care safer and less costly by participating in the “Partnership for Patients” initiative, a federally-approved and federally-supported initiative to make hospitals across the United States safer.
Partnership for Patients was established by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Innovation Center (CMS) as a public-private partnership that offers support to physicians, nurses and other clinicians working in and out of hospitals to keep patients from getting injured or sicker while in the hospital so they can heal without complications.
All 16 SSM Health Care hospitals, of which St. Mary’s is a member, have joined with the Premier healthcare alliance to participate in the initiative. Premier, a performance improvement alliance of hospitals and other health care organizations working together to achieve high quality, cost-effective care, is one of 26 organizations approved by CMS to participate in the initiative. More than 540 hospitals across the country are partnering with Premier to participate in Partnership for Patients.
As a member of the Partnership for Patients initiative, St. Mary’s and all SSM Health Care hospitals will focus on reducing preventable readmissions to hospitals by 20 percent and reducing preventable hospital-acquired conditions by 40 percent over the next three years.
CMS estimates this partnership has the potential to save 60,000 lives and reduce millions of preventable injuries and complications in patient care over the next three years. It also has the potential to save as much as $35 billion, including up to $10 billion in Medicare savings.
“St. Mary’s already has a strong reputation for eliminating infections and preventing other types of complications while patients are healing,” said Chris Baker, Director of Quality & Safety Systems at St. Mary’s Hospital. “By participating in the Partnership for Patients initiative, we are renewing our focus and dedication to providing safe, high quality and cost effective patient care.”
In total, Partnership for Patients consists of more than 6,500 partners, including more than 3,100 hospitals and 2,300 physicians, nurses, and patient advocates.
For more about the Partnership for Patients initiative, please visit the healthcare.gov website: http://www.healthcare.gov/compare/partnership-for-patients/index.html
###
SSM Health Care of Wisconsin serves an 18-county area in south-central Wisconsin, owning and operating St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison, St. Clare Hospital in Baraboo, and their two respective nursing homes along with the newly opened St. Mary’s Janesville Hospital. SSMHC/WI is also affiliated with Columbus Community Hospital, Edgerton Hospital & Health Services, Stoughton Hospital, Upland Hills Health, Inc. in Dodgeville, and Boscobel Area Health Care. SSMHC/WI and its physician partner Dean Clinic collaborate in a number of health care services, including St. Mary’s Dean Ventures (SMDV) which sponsors primary care clinics throughout the 18-county service area.