Norfolk, VA - April 21, 2006 - Three Sentara hospitals have received Leadership Awards for Clinical Excellence from VHA, a voluntary alliance of 2,400 not-for-profit hospitals committed to excellence in patient care. Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital and Sentara Leigh Hospital were recognized for treatment of Acute Myocardial Infarctions, or, heart attacks.
Sentara Leigh Hospital and Sentara Bayside Hospital were also cited for prevention of surgical site infections.
This award honors organizations that have differentiated themselves around national performance standards by achieving performance at the 90% or above level on clinical core measures, said VHA president Curt Nonomaque.
Core measures in the acute MI category include: Aspirin on arrival - ACE inhibitor to prevent further damage - a thrombolytic agent within 30 minutes of arrival - Maximum 120 minutes to balloon intervention - smoking cessation advice and counseling - aspirin home regimen at discharge - beta blocker prescribed at discharge.
Core measures in infection prevention include: antibiotic given one hour prior to surgery antibiotic selection for surgical patients antibiotic discontinued 24 hours after surgery.
The awards will be presented at VHAs annual Leadership Conference in St. Louis on May 21st.
Sentara Healthcare is a premier not-for-profit health care system serving southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina.
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