Southeast Alabama Medical Center Earns Top Performer Status in Groundbreaking Medicare, Premier Inc. Pay-for-Performance Project.

DOTHAN, Ala. -- Southeast Alabama Medical Center (SAMC), has been named one of the top performers in a groundbreaking Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Premier Inc. pay-for-performance project that rewards hospitals for delivering higher quality care in five clinical areas.

SAMC was rated in the top decile, based on its second-year, overall quality score in the clinical focus area of coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), and the second decile for Hip and Knee replacement surgery. Based on the top decile score, SAMC will receive a bonus payment from CMS, which awarded incentive payments of $8.7 million to 115 top-performing hospitals.

"Providing outstanding patient care has always been our primary mission," says Ronald S. Owen, president and CEO of Southeast Alabama Medical Center. "We were pleased to participate in this demonstration and are proud that our performance was rated among the best." Owen adds, "Over time, healthcare costs can be controlled by meeting quality standards that provide treatment before a condition worsens and that eliminate unnecessary procedures."

Data from the second year of the CMS/Premier Hospital Quality Incentive Demonstration (HQID), validated by CMS and reported publicly today, demonstrates a significant improvement in the quality of care across five clinical focus areas, including 1,284 heart attack patient lives saved. "Everyone benefits from improved quality of care and patient outcomes," says Jeffrey Plagenhoef, MD, president, Medical Staff, Southeast Alabama Medical Center. "In addition to improving quality, we believe the cost of care will decline as quality rises. For example, for every readmission that doesn't happen because of the high-quality care during the initial hospitalization, there will be substantial healthcare cost savings. And, avoiding complications can result in better patient outcomes and lower costs." Dr. Plagenhoef adds, "Southeast Alabama Medical Center already has high standards of care, but we believe there is always room for improvement. We are committed to providing the highest possible quality care and are always eager to learn new ways to achieve higher quality and improve patient outcomes."

For complete information about the HQID project, visit www.premierinc.com/qualitydemo.

"The main point is that the majority of hospitals in the HQID project, even those on the lower end of the scale, improved their quality of care across the board with respect to reliable use of scientifically based practices," says Donald M. Berwick, MD, MPP, FRCP, president and CEO at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI). "Hospitals want to offer high quality care; sometimes they just need to be pointed in the right direction. The HQID project has offered hospitals a guideline to improve their patient care." Berwick adds, "This study was conducted with a very strong clinical, quality and cost database from Premier. Such a database helps you to study your own care and identify opportunities for improvement."

HQID tracks process and outcome measures in five clinical areas - acute myocardial infarction (AMI), heart failure (CHF), coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), pneumonia and hip and knee replacement.

"We are extremely proud of our physicians, nurses and health care team at the Medical Center," says Vicki Darnell, RN, MSN, Southeast Alabama Medical Center, vice-president of Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer. "We have worked very hard to be the leader in quality healthcare initiatives not only in the region, but in the country. It's no surprise that we are among the best in the nation in two of the five areas. It's our goal to be the best in all clinical quality and service areas. With the great healthcare team assembled at SAMC and with the support of our community, we can do it."

"For over a decade, Premier has been committed to working with hospitals to improve clinical quality and patient outcomes while safely reducing costs," says Richard Norling, president and CEO of Premier Inc. "The findings from the first two years of the HQID project clearly show that the project is having a positive impact on the quality of care in our nation's hospitals and on the lives of patients and their families."

About Premier Inc., recipient of the 2006 Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award

Serving 1,700 hospitals and 42,000 other healthcare sites, Premier Inc. is the largest healthcare alliance in the United States dedicated to improving patient outcomes while safely reducing the cost of care. Owned by not-for-profit hospitals, Premier operates the nation's largest healthcare purchasing network, the most comprehensive repository of hospital clinical and financial information and one of the largest policy-holder owned, hospital professional liability risk-retention groups in healthcare. Headquartered in San Diego, Premier has offices in Charlotte, N.C. and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.premierinc.com.

Southeast Alabama Medical Center is one of the largest not-for-profit hospitals in Alabama with 370 general acute beds and 30 LTACH beds. SAMC is also the largest employer in Dothan, AL with more than 2500 employees. The hospital is owned and operated by the Houston County Healthcare Authority. The hospital's central location, as a regional referral center, makes it easily accessible to a region of over 600,000 residents. SAMC has been acknowledged by Solucient as a Top 100 Hospital in Cardiovascular Care. SAMC offers many clinical services and special units such as: Cardiology, Emergency Services, Oncology, Orthopedics, Surgery, Women's Center, Advanced Home Medical, AltaCare, Diabetes Treatment Center, Home Health, Pain Management Center, and Sleep Center.