HRH receives leadership award for clinical excellence

    HOULTON — VHA Inc., a national health care network, has given Houlton Regional Hospital a 2011 VHA Leadership Award for Clinical Excellence, honoring the hospital for meeting or exceeding national performance standards for clinical care and improving the patient experience.
    VHA serves more than 1,350 not-for-profit hospitals and more than 30,000 non-acute health care providers nationwide, supporting their efforts to improve their clinical and economic performance. Houlton Regional Hospital was one of 28 VHA member hospitals to receive the 2011 Leadership Awards for Clinical Excellence. The winners of the 2011 VHA Leadership Award for Clinical Excellence were announced in May at VHA’s Annual Leadership Conference in San Diego.
    The VHA Leadership Award for Clinical Excellence is given annually to recognize organizations that achieve top performance on the clinical core measures established by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and in the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Health Providers and Services (HCAHPS) survey that measure patient satisfaction at hospitals across the country.
    Tom Moakler, chief executive officer of Houlton Regional Hospital, said the award is a reflection of the dedication and excellence of the medical staff and employees are Houlton Regional Hospital.
    “The VHA Leadership Award for Clinical Excellence recognizes hospitals that have worked to provide consistently high levels of clinical care for their patients and that emphasize the importance of improving the patient experience,” added Trent Haywood, MD, JD, chief medical officer at VHA. “These award-winning hospitals have clearly demonstrated an organizational commitment to look at the organizational practices, organizational structures and relationships that support performance improvement.” 
    By recognizing these award-winning institutions, VHA hopes that other hospitals and health systems will apply these leading practices to identify ways to improve patient care and drive clinical excellence within their own organizations.
    For more information on VHA, go to www.vha.com.