Southlake deemed high-performing hospital

Following the recent release of Hospital Report 2006: Acute Care, Southlake Regional Health Care Centre in Newmarket was proud to be recognized as one of only two high-performing hospitals in Ontario.

Southlake reported this is

title that is reserved for hospitals that score above average in at least two out of four quadrants, or areas of performance, and below average in none.

"I am extremely proud of Southlake and its people," said Dan Carriere, Southlake president and CEO. "At the end of the day we work hard to be the very best hospital we can be for the communities we serve, so to be recognized for the progress we've made in a province with so many great hospitals is a real honour."

Southlake received an above average score for its clinical performance, in the area of unplanned re-admissions for medical patients within 72 hours of their discharge. The hospital also received a high score in the area of women's health for having a low rate of adverse events during labour and delivery. In addition to clinical outcomes, Southlake was also recognized as a high performer in relation to its

management of finances and human resources. In this specific category, Southlake scored above average in seven of the nine areas used to evaluate financial performance.

"It's not just about finances, it's about maintaining the highest standards in patient care while being efficient and fiscally responsible," Carriere remarked. "We wouldn't have been recognized as a high-performer for our financial performance alone. This is a testament to the dedication of staff and physicians from across the organization."

Carriere added that while the result of this year's Hospital Report, which is based on data from the 2004'05 year, is the positive result of setting goals and deliberate effort, there is always room for improvement.

"Southlake isn't an organization that rests on its laurels," he declared. "We will celebrate this wonderful news, but we will also continue to seek out ways to continue to strengthen our performance, improve our services and the way we deliver those services."

News of Southlake's performance in Hospital Report has come just weeks after the

announcement of the Hospital's three-year Accreditation Award, the highest level of recognition from the Canadian Council on Health Services Accreditation (CCHSA).

Hospital Report 2006: Acute Care is the sixth in a series of hospital-specific reports that uses a balanced scorecard approach to report on the performance of hospitals that provide acute inpatient and ambulatory care services in Ontario. The report provides a summary of performance scores across four areas of performance: Clinical Utilization and Outcomes, System Integration and Change, Financial Performance and Condition and Patient Satisfaction. In addition to these, a Women's Health Perspective is included to provide a better understanding of hospitals' performance specific to women and related to equity of access and outcomes for women and men. The 2006 report includes the data from 123 acute care hospitals in Ontario, 62 of which fall into the Community Hospital category.

Hospital Report is a joint initiative of the Ontario Hospital Association and the Government of Ontario.