Editor’s Note: In the December Birmingham Medical News, we published Cullman Regional’s 2021 American Heart Association Achievement Awards. The following are the 2022 awards:
Cullman Regional Medical Center earned several awards in 2022, including the 2022 American Heart Association Get With The Guidelines® Heart Failure Gold Plus Award and the ® Stroke Gold Plus Award.
The hospital’s awards and rankings indicate its ability to effectively implement quality improvement initiatives. One example is the hospital’s sepsis initiative. Based on calculations used by the Hospital Improvement Innovation Network, Cullman Regional’s implementation of sepsis protocols since 2017 has resulted in an estimated 194 lives saved.
CMS Hospital Compare -
Top 10% Performance
Sepsis Early Management Bundle - 99% (National 57% - State 55%)
Measures compliance with evidence-based management of sepsis and correlates with lives saved.
Outpatient Colonoscopy Screening – 100% (National 90% - State 85%)
Measures compliance with best practice screening colonoscopy including communication to ensure ongoing screening at appropriate intervals.
Elective Delivery < 39 Weeks Gestation - 0% (National 2% - State 2%)
Measures avoidance of premature elective delivery. Cullman Regional has no elective deliveries less than 39 weeks of gestation.
CMS Hospital Compare -
Additional Rankings Outperforming National and State
Stroke Head CT Scan Results – 80% (National 71% - State 56%)
Measures the percentage of patients with suspected stroke who have a head CT report available within recommended time after arrival.
Acute Myocardial Infarction Fibrinolytic Therapy Within 30 minutes - 91% (National 53% - State 60%)
Measures the immediate treatment of heart attack patients. Specifically, administering clot- buster medication within 30 minutes of arrival.
Acute Myocardial Infarction Median Time to Transfer for Intervention – 49 minutes (National 61 minutes– State 71 minutes)
Measures the time from arrival in the ED with a heart attack to the time transferred out for angioplasty or stent placement.
Median Time from ED arrival to departure – 136 minutes (National 155 minutes – State 144 minutes)
Measures the time a patient spends in the ED.
