Whether it's providing cancer, heart or newborn care, or treating a child's sprained ankle, excellent clinical care is the basis of our mission and our greatest concern. That's why Intermountain, and our people and programs, are widely recognized.
Recognizing Excellence
National Recognition
President Barack Obama and other national leaders from across the political spectrum cited Intermountain Healthcare several times as a model for the rest of the nation.
In a speech to a joint session of Congress, the president applauded Intermountain for providing high-quality care at low costs. “We have long known that some places — like the Intermountain Healthcare in Utah or the Geisinger Health System in rural Pennsylvania — offer high-quality care at costs below average.”
In other speeches, the president referred to Intermountain and Geisinger as “islands of excellence that we need to make the standard in our healthcare system.”
The New York Times Magazine made Intermountain its cover story (Nov 8). Reporter David Leonhardt visited with experts across the country and internationally. He reported the following comments by healthcare policy leaders:
- Jack Wennberg, MD, a researcher at Dartmouth: “It’s the best model in the country of how you can actually change healthcare.”
- John Mendelsohn, MD, president of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston: “Everybody is trying to systemically improve value and quality. But at Intermountain they have worked out the operational system and the culture to do it.”
An article in Time magazine reported, “If there is an ideal out there…it can be seen in the kind of medicine already being practiced by Kaiser Permanente, the Mayo Clinic, Intermountain Healthcare, and Geisinger Health System, which manage to hold down costs and get better results. Their operations have fostered closer teamwork among care providers.”
In The New Yorker, acclaimed writer and physician Atul Gawande, MD, named Intermountain among healthcare providers that have adopted measures to avoid harmful financial incentives and improve patient care. “This approach has been adopted in other places, too: the Geisinger Health System in Danville, Pennsylvania; the Marshfield Clinic in Marshfield, Wisconsin; Intermountain Healthcare in Salt Lake City; Kaiser Permanente in Northern California. All of them function on similar principles. All are not-for-profit institutions. And all have produced enviably higher quality and lower costs than the average American town enjoys.”
Intermountain Healthcare Recognition
For the 11th year in a row, Modern Healthcare magazine’s annual list of the nation’s top 100 integrated healthcare networks ranks Intermountain among the leaders. Intermountain ranks fifth in this year’s study of more than 550 systems.
Computerworld magazine selected Intermountain as one of the top workplaces for information technology professionals.
InformationWeek magazine included Intermountain Healthcare in its ranking of the 500 most innovative companies employing information technology in their businesses.
Intermountain was again included in Hospitals & Health Networks magazine’s “100 Most Wired Hospitals” list. It is the 10th time Intermountain has made the list in the 11 years since the ranking began.
Intermountain Healthcare received the WEDI (Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange) 2009 Leadership in Technology Award.
Intermountain received three eHealthcare Leadership awards at the 2009 Healthcare Internet Conference.
The Utah Pollution Prevention Association honored Intermountain and seven other Utah businesses for making great strides in reducing pollution and improving environmental health.
Hospital Recognition and Awards
LDS Hospital was named one of “America’s Best Hospitals” by U.S. News & World Report.
The Orthopedic Specialty Hospital (TOSH) was awarded the HealthInsight quality award for the second year in a row for excellence in antibiotic administration and timing.
Intermountain Medical Center was included on the Distinguished Hospitals for Clinical Excellence list prepared by the HealthGrades rating organization.
The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With the Guidelines program honored six Intermountain Healthcare hospitals for excellence in treating coronary artery disease, stroke, and heart failure:
- Intermountain Medical Center
- McKay-Dee Hospital Center
- Dixie Regional Medical Center
- LDS Hospital
- Utah Valley Regional Medical Center
- Logan Regional Hospital
The Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons has granted three-year approval with commendation to Intermountain Cancer Services at Intermountain Medical Center, LDS Hospital, and Alta View Hospital.
U.S. News & World Report named Primary Children’s Medical Center as one of America’s top pediatric hospitals in orthopedics, heart care and heart surgery, and neurosurgery.
Sevier Valley Medical Center received the Most Improved Utah Hospital in Surgical Care Award and the Most Improved Utah Hospital in Overall Care Award from HealthInsight.
Thomson Reuters named Dixie Regional Medical Center among the nation’s Top 100 Hospitals: Cardiovascular Benchmarks 2009.
Logan Regional Hospital received the Silver Performance Achievement Award from the American Hospital Association. The hospital also received Extended Care Unit Top-Ranking and Skilled Nursing Facility Recognition by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
SelectHealth Recognition
The 2009 rankings for “America’s Best Health Insurance Plans” listed SelectHealth ahead of all other commercial health plans in Utah for the fourth consecutive year. U.S. News & World Report and the National Committee for Quality Assurance ranked 730 health plans.
HealthLeaders presented its top health plans award to SelectHealth for its Select 25 charitable giving program.
SelectHealth has been named one of Utah’s “Best Companies to Work For” for the third consecutive year by Utah Business magazine.
Individual Honors
Marc Probst and Stan Huff, MD, were named to Federal Advisory Committees within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The committees are part of the new Health IT initiatives established under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Stan Huff, MD, chief medical informaticist, is a member of the Health IT Standards Committee. Marc Probst, chief information officer, is a member of the Health IT Policy Committee.
Computerworld magazine named Stan Huff, MD, as one of its “Premier 100 IT Leaders for 2010.”
Nancy Nowak, RN, Intermountain’s vice president of clinical operations and chief nursing officer, was listed by Utah Business magazine as one of 30 “Women to Watch” in Utah.
Brent Johnson, Intermountain’s chief purchasing officer, was honored by Healthcare Purchasing News as a “trailblazer” in healthcare supply chain management.
Dixie Regional Medical Center CEO Terri Kane was named Executive of the Year by the St. George Area Chamber of Commerce.
Rod Fifield, director of social work at McKay-Dee Hospital Center, was named the Social Work Leader of the Year by The Society for Social Work Leadership in Health Care.
Luciana De Saibro, MD, an Intermountain Healthcare neurologist from St. George, received the “Above and Beyond” award from the MS Society of Utah.
Kristen Gardner, RN, of Intermountain Medical Center’s Emergency Department, received the 2009 Utah Emergency Nurse of the Year award from the Emergency Nurse Association of Utah.
Utah Business magazine included several Intermountain Healthcare employees and trustees among its “Health Care Heroes”:
- Carmen B. Pingree, trustee on Intermountain’s Board of Trustees and the Governing Board of Primary Children’s Medical Center, Volunteer category.
- Paul H. Robinson, MD, trustee on the Governing Board of Intermountain’s Urban South Region, general surgeon and medical director at American Fork Hospital, Lifetime Achievement category.
- Tracy Hill, MD, trustee on the Governing Board of Intermountain’s Urban South Region, pulmonologist, Utah Valley Regional Medical Center, Health Care Providers - Physician category.
- Brent C. James, MD, MStat, Intermountain’s chief quality officer, vice president of medical research, and executive director of the Intermountain Institute for Healthcare Delivery Research, Lifetime Achievement category.
- Ron Liston, administrator and operations director, Orem Community Hospital and Utah Valley Regional Medical Center, Administrative Excellence category.
- Maria Black, administrative director, Cardiovascular Services, Utah Valley Regional Medical Center, Health Care Providers - Non-physician category.
John Frischknecht, MD, cardiologist at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center, was named 2009 Doctor of the Year by the Utah Medical Association.
Jane Carlile, chair of the Urban South Region Governing Board and member of the Intermountain Board, was named Citizen of the Year by the Provo/Orem Chamber of Commerce and Trustee of the Year by the Utah Hospital Association.
Key Events in 2009
Intermountain continued its tradition of clinical excellence, meeting or exceeding its clinical quality goals in 13 areas.
Intermountain opened two new hospitals, the Park City Medical Center and Riverton Hospital, to serve the needs of these growing communities. A replacement facility for Bear River Valley Hospital also was completed.
To ensure long-term financial stability, Intermountain in 2009 restructured its employee retirement plans. We remain one of the few organizations to offer both an employee pension and 401(k) matching contributions.
The Intermountain Medical Group opened three new facilities during 2009: Saratoga Springs Clinic in June, Syracuse Clinic in July, and Moroni Clinic in August.
Pat Richards was named president and CEO of SelectHealth following the retirement of Sid Paulson.
SelectHealth began offering its dental insurance products to individual purchasers in addition to large and small employer groups.