Quality and Safety
Achievements
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- Cancer Our cancer program was recognized by US News & World Report as high performing two years in a row (2011-2012, 2012-2013)
- On the University Campus of UMass Memorial Medical Center, Cyocare pharmaceutical equipment efficiently prepares chemotherapy infusions onsite, thereby decreasing patient wait times for drugs.
- Our nurse navigator program makes multifaceted cancer treatment programs more manageable for our patients with lung, breast and gastrointestinal cancers.
- The American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer granted the Medical Center a three-year accreditation with commendation, its highest level of approval. Only one in four US hospitals that treat cancer receives this special recognition.
Diabetes Center of Excellence
- Our diabetes and endocrinology program was recognized as high performing by US News & World Report in 2012-2013.
- The Diabetes Center of Excellence is the first health care provider in the United States to integrate MyCareTeam Clinical, a web-based diabetes management system from MyCareTeam, with our electronic medical record to improve long-term diabetes management and enable collaboration among providers for enhanced patient care.
- The Diabetes Center of Excellence and University of Massachusetts Medical School are among 66 sites nationwide participating in the Helmsley Trust T1D Exchange, a clinical registry that brings together individuals with type 1diabetes, clinicians and researchers to advance the understanding of the disease.
- The center's self-management education model is approved by the American Diabetes Association (ADA), which means that we've met high national standards for our comprehensive diabetes education.
- Our multidisciplinary pediatric diabetes clinic is the only ADA-approved program for children in Central Massachusetts.
Heart and Vascular Center of Excellence
- The center is considered one of the country's leaders in cardiovascular care according to many quality benchmarks and measures.
- The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) awarded its highest designation - three stars - to our Cardiac Surgery Program, five years in a row for coronary artery bypass surgery. UMass Memorial is one of 968 participants in the STS cardiac surgery database. Only 14 percent of these hospitals receive this three-star rating.
- STS also awarded three stars to our Cardiac Surgery Program for aortic valve replacement surgery. Only 3.2 percent of the 968 hospitals participating receive this rating.
- Our cardiac surgeons received a three-star rating from Consumer Reports for bypass cardiac surgery based on overall performance, complications and other quality measures.
- Our Cardiac Surgery Program had a zero percent mortality rate in 2010 for patients undergoing isolated CABG surgery.
- Our Cardiac Catheterization Lab was ranked #1 in Massachusetts for the lowest mortality rates for shock/STEMI patients (those having a heart attack) according to the most recent report from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
- Our Vascular Surgery Program was the first in the United States to implant an investigational branched endovascular graft to repair abdominal aortic aneurysms.
- Physicians at the Medical Center were the first in New England to implant the Revo MRIT SureScan® pacing system, the only pacemaker designed and tested to allow patients to have an MRI after receiving a pacemaker.
Musculoskeletal Center of Excellence
- Orthopedic surgeons and anesthesiologists have developed a new pain management approach that's being hailed as a national best practice for improving patient outcomes after total joint replacement and other orthopedic surgery. Patients experience exceptional pain control, the ability to ambulate and begin physical therapy sooner and, ultimately, regain function faster.
Critical Care
- Quarterly national benchmarking data presented in July 2012 ranked UMass Memorial Medical Center's Critical Care Department number one for the 20th straight quarter.
- The eICU program at UMass Memorial Medical Center supports the bedside providers in caring for patients in 13 ICUs that are housed in seven hospitals' intensive care units in Massachusetts, including the Medical Center, Wing Memorial, HealthAlliance and Marlborough Hospital.
Children's Medical Center
- Pediatric surgeons at the Children's Medical Center are the first in Central Massachusetts and among a select few in all of New England performing single port laparoscopic surgery (SPLS). The small, single incisions result in a decrease in post-operative pain with just one tiny incision, and kids are able to return to school and other activities more quickly.
Primary Care
- A medical home initiative is transforming six practices at UMass Memorial Health Care. The move to the medical home is about the creation of a 21st century model of care that:
- Plans and manages care
- Tracks and coordinates care
- Provides self-care support and community resources (patient activation and engagement)
- Provides enhanced access and continuity Identifies and manages patient populations
- Is data driven
- Massachusetts Health Quality Partners (MHQP), a coalition of physicians, hospitals, health plans, insurers, patients and public representatives, academics and government agencies reported data in summer 2012 that ranked many of our primary care practices as being among the best performers in patient care measures.
Women's Health
- U.S. News & World Report named UMass Memorial Medical Center gynecology services as high performing in 2011-2012.
UMass Memorial Medical Center
- The Medical Center was a top ranked hospital in the Worcester region two years in a row (2011-12, 2012-13) by U.S. News and World Report and top-performing in Cancer, Diabetes & Endocrinology, Gastroenterology, Gynecology, Nephrology, Pulmonology and Urology in 2012-13.
Clinton Hospital
- Fall 2012 HCAHPS data shows Clinton Hospital as the state leader in six out of 10 categories measured. The scores, which reflect patient surveys submitted between October 2010 and September 2011, put Clinton Hospital at the head of the class in the areas of nurse and physician communication, staff responsiveness, providing explanations about medications, cleanliness of patient rooms and restrooms, and nighttime noise. The hospital also received high scores in the remaining four categories in which 86 percent of Clinton's patients said they would definitely recommend Clinton Hospital to others.
HealthAlliance
- August 2012: HealthAlliance Hospital named by Consumer Reports magazine as the safest hospital in the state. The listing used six categories for ratings: infections, readmissions, communication, CT scanning, complications and mortality.
- Three-year accreditation by American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer for the Simond-Sinon Regional Cancer Center as a Community Hospital Comprehensive Cancer Program.
Marlborough Hospital
- Surgical patients were given the right kind of antibiotics to help prevent infection, 100% of the time.
- Myocardial infarction: scored better than the national average in terms of evidence-based practice in six of the eight quality measures.
- Congestive heart failure: scored 100% in evaluation of LVS (left ventricular systolic) function.
- In the treatment of pneumonia patients, received a gold star rating from the Joint Commission for appropriate antibiotic selection.
- Marlborough Hospital received the 2011 Press Ganey Success Story.
Wing Memorial Hospital and Medical Centers
- Named with UMass Memorial Health Care as one of Thomson Reuters Top Performing Health Care Systems in 2012 for quality of care and patient satisfaction.
- Received the American Heart Association's Get With The Guidelines®-Heart Failure Gold Achievement Award; the award recognizes our hospital's commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of care by ensuring that heart failure patients receive treatment according to nationally accepted standards and recommendations.
- Received two awards in 2012 from Stroke Collaborative Reaching For Excellence (SCORE). Wing was recognized for DEFECT FREE CARE to a minimum of 80 percent of patients and the DYSPHAGIA AWARD, Highest Performer among all SCORE Hospitals.