Hamilton presents Core Measure Excellence Awards

Published 1:36 pm Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Hamilton Medical Center recently presented Core Measure Excellence Awards to Dr. Michael Wilson and nurse Sherri Morgan for high quality patient care of surgical patients. Nurse Johnny White, operating room charge nurse, received the Core Measure Honorable Mention Award.

For the month of June, Wilson and Morgan were instrumental in the achievement of scores above the national average on indicators within the Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) measure set. Winners of the award prove through their documentation that they are consistently compliant with the set standards, and that they have provided highest quality of care to their patients. The award focuses on all disciplines involved in a patient’s care while at the hospital.

SCIP is a national quality partnership of organizations interested in improving surgical care by significantly reducing surgical complications.

Hamilton’s SCIP scores are in the top 10 percent in the nation. Hamilton is number two in the state for overall surgical care.

Wilson is on the medical staff at Hamilton and has been practicing at Associates in Orthopedics and Sports Medicine (AOSM) since 2004. He has been practicing orthopedics for 10 years. He graduated from the University of Georgia in 1983 with a bachelor of science degree in pharmacy and began his Doctor of Medicine in 1990 at the Medical College of Georgia, graduating from MCG, Section of Orthopedic Surgery, in 2000. Currently, his most common surgery is knee arthroscopy.

Morgan trained to be a surgical tech in the Navy. Following active duty commitment, she worked as a surgical tech in North Carolina for five years while obtaining her nursing degree. She has her Certified Nurse Operating Room (CNOR) designation, with 2,000 hours of experience and 150 hours of assisting hours, sponsored by local vascular surgeon Ian Hamilton. She has worked at Hamilton for almost five years.

In 2004, the Joint Commission and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services began working together to develop a set of common standardized performance measures called Hospital Quality Measures. The Joint Commission and CMS have developed the set of criteria as the standard of care through evidence-based practice that are in place to improve the quality of care provided to hospital patients. This set standard allows a hospital’s performance to be compared against overall national rates.

Currently, Hospital Quality Measures, also known as core measures, include Acute Myocardial Infarction, Heart Failure, Pneumonia and the Surgical Care Improvement Project. Each month a different core measure set is highlighted by the Clinical Quality team.