Schneider Regional Medical Center joined a small and select group of health care organizations, when it was recently asked to participate in The Joint Commission's Core Measure Solution Exchange. In a letter dated May 5, 2011, addressed to Chief Executive Officer Alice Taylor, Mark R. Chassin, President of The Joint Commission, offered his congratulations "on the significant improvement and high performance that your hospital has achieved" and invited the hospital to share its best practices with other accredited hospitals in an on-line interactive forum. Of the 19,000 health care organizations accredited by The Joint Commission, only 243 have been asked to participate in the Exchange since it was introduced in October of 2010. And independent and non-profit organization, The Joint Commission accredits and certifies health care facilities accross the nation.

Core Measures are a method of measuring a variety of scientifically researched standards of care in medicine which have been shown to improve clinical outcomes for patients. Dr. Cecilia Penn, the hospital's Performance Improvement Physician, developed responsed for the Core Measure Solution Exchange for Heart Failure: Evaluation of Left Ventricular Systolic Function, Smoking Cessation Advice; Pneumonia: Smoling Cessation Advice; and Overall Post Discharge Continuing Care Plans. Dr. Penn submitted her "peer share" responses on June 3. They were reviewed by The Joint Commission, accepted and posted within a week. Dr. Penn explained that Schneider Regional Medical Center strives to continually follow evidenced-based guidelines for clinical care, to improve health care outcomes, and to emphasize the involvement of each patient in his or her own treatment and care plan.

Schneider Regional Medical Center has been associated with The Joint Commission for over 8 years and received reaccreditation from the organization in 2009. Working together, the hospital and The Joint Commission monitor patient care. The hospital submits monthly reports on patient care related to Core Measures for which performance scores are tabulated. Core Measures help hospitals improve the quality of patient care by focusing on actual results of care. Over the last year, The Joint Commission recognized the hospital's improved and sustained scores, which merited the invitation to participate in the Core Measure Solution Exchange.