A new report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services shows that South Carolina is one of five states that showed the greatest improvement in health care quality last year.
The report summarizes health care according to the setting, including hospitals, ambulances, nursing homes and home health care, and also according to types of clinical condition, from cancer to maternal care.
CEO of the South Carolina Hospital Association Thornton Kirby says South Carolina is the only state in the nation that has all its major research universities and six teaching hospital systems joining forces to improve the quality of health care. Kirby says that has fueled improvement.
AUDIO: Thorton Kirby on SC’s DHHS healthcare ranking (:53)
Kirby says that collaboration between health care organizations is key to figuring out problems, such as infections which can develop during hospitalization.
South Carolina scored particularly high in the areas of hospital care, heart disease care and home health care. In the heart disease care category, Kirby says South Carolina ranked at or above the national average in nine of 11 measurements.
In the home health care category, Kirby says South Carolina ranked at or above the national average in all 10 measurements.
Dr. Jay Moskowitz, president and CEO of Health Sciences South Carolina, a public-private collaborative working to improve health care and health research in the state, gives credit to the hospital association.
South Carolina also benefits from a state hospital association that has set a new standard for work in the field of quality and safety. The entire hospital community works in partnership to seek out best practices and share them statewide, and the power of that collaborative spirit is undeniable.
