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The hospital is being recognized for the Modified Early Warning System (MEWS), a new scoring system that was developed and implemented by Mercy Anderson staff.  MEWS is applied to the physiological vital signs routinely measured by nurses.  It provides them with a tool to evaluate subtle signs that predict the patient’s likelihood of deterioration. This helps increase calls to the hospital’s Rapid Response Team and decreases the incidence of Code Blue cases.

"It is truly an honor for our hospital to receive the 2009 Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Award,” says Patricia Schroer, President/CEO of Mercy Hospital Anderson. “We're very proud of this accomplishment; the development of the Modified Early Warning System is an example of our ongoing commitment to provide the highest level of patient care and patient safety.”

The 2009 Eisenberg Awards will be formally presented during the National Quality Forum’s (NQF) Annual National Policy Conference on Quality October 14 – 16 in Washington, D.C.  The patient safety awards program, launched in 2002 by NQF and The Joint Commission, honors John M. Eisenberg, M.D., M.B.A., former administrator of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.  Dr. Eisenberg was one of the founding leaders of NQF and sat on its Board of Directors.

“We are especially pleased to receive the prestigious John M. Eisenberg Award because it is a visible demonstration of how far we have come in our continuing journey towards clinical transformation: creating a culture of quality and patient safety that emphasizes seamless, excellent, team-based care,” said David C. Reed, MD, chairman of the Mercy Health Partners. “In the Board Room and throughout our organization, we are deeply committed and passionately engaged in improving health experiences and outcomes for the patients we serve."

The honor is just the latest for Mercy Hospital Anderson, which has received numerous accolades for quality of care, including being rated as one of the 100 Top Hospitals in the nation seven times by Thomson Reuters.

"This award reinforces the status that Mercy holds in the community and reflects how deeply committed and passionate they are about the care they give to our citizens,” says Albert F. Peter, President, Board of Trustees, Anderson Township. “Winning the 2009 Eisenberg Innovation in Patient Safety and Quality Award is just one of the many reasons the Anderson Township area is proud to have Mercy Hospital Anderson as part of our community."

For more information about the John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Award, please visit http://www.jointcommission.org/PatientSafety/EisenbergAward.