CHARLOTTE, N.C. & SPRINGFIELD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Baystate Health, an academic health system in Springfield, Mass., has received the 2017 Premier Alliance Excellence Award from Premier Inc. (NASDAQ: PINC), a leading healthcare improvement company.
Premier selected Baystate out of its nationwide alliance of approximately 3,750 U.S. hospitals and more than 130,000 other provider organizations. The award is given annually to healthcare organizations that exemplify the highest level of industry innovation and advancements in delivering high-quality, cost-effective care.
“An industry-leader, Baystate is never satisfied with status quo performance and is always looking for ways they can improve,” said Susan DeVore, president and CEO, Premier. “From becoming one of the first health systems to publish their outcomes, to creating their own health plan and leading the way as an early pioneer of new value-based payment models, Baystate has set an industry standard. And they’re sharing these best practices across the Premier alliance to help others do the same. We’re honored to present them with the 2017 Premier Alliance Excellence Award.”
Serving nearly 1 million people throughout western New England, Baystate is an integrated health system that has been providing skilled and compassionate healthcare in the Pioneer Valley for more than 140 years. Baystate is also a founding member of Premier and has worked in partnership with the organization for more than 30 years to achieve continuous improvements in healthcare costs and quality.
“We focus on our mission every day – to improve the health of the people in our communities with quality and compassion,” said Mark A. Keroack, MD, MPH, president and CEO of Baystate and chair, board of directors for Health New England. “Congratulations to each and every Baystate team member for keeping this focus while creating room to innovate. We are proud to be recognized for these accomplishments, which are the result of both our own efforts, as well as the collaboration among Premier alliance members to identify opportunities, define new care models and share best practices.”
In partnership with Premier, Baystate has saved more than $30 million in supply chain costs over the past five years, lowered mortality by 10 percent in the QUEST® quality improvement collaborative, reduced readmission rates to less than the national average through Premier’s Hospital Improvement Innovation Network, and achieved a savings of more than $1 million through Premier’s bundled payment collaborative.
“Over the years, Baystate has partnered with Premier to build a quality improvement infrastructure to include principles of high reliability and efficiency,” Evan M. Benjamin, MD, MS, FACP, senior vice president of quality and population health at Baystate. “In doing so, we have achieved lower than expected mortality rates and reductions in complications. With Premier’s help, Baystate also created the first safety reporting system in the country, as well as a performance improvement accountability infrastructure to advance healthcare quality.”
Of special note, Baystate Medical Center is also the only teaching hospital with no readmission penalties in Massachusetts, as well as the lowest cost teaching hospital in the state. In 2015, UMMS – Baystate, the only regional campus at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, was founded through an innovative partnership between Baystate Health and UMass Medical School. The school will open on the Baystate Medical Center campus in August with 25 students. Baystate also recently launched TechSpring, the only healthcare innovation center that empowers technology companies to advance transformative solutions together.
Baystate accepted the annual Premier Alliance Excellence Award on June 28, 2017 in front of approximately 4,000 peers during an awards ceremony held at Premier’s annual Breakthroughs Conference. Previous award winners include Banner Health (Phoenix), Bon Secours Health System, Inc. (Marriottsville, Maryland), Inova (Falls Church, VA), Mercy Health (Cincinnati), Texas Health Resources (Arlington, Texas), and Riverside Health System (Newport News, Virginia).
About Baystate Health
Baystate Health is a not-for-profit integrated healthcare system serving over 800,000 people throughout western Massachusetts. Nationally recognized as a leader in healthcare quality and safety, Baystate Health has more than 12,000 employees and serves a diverse population of patients at its teaching hospital, Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, as well as at Baystate Children’s Hospital, its three community hospitals, several urban health centers, home care and hospice services, and a network of over 80 medical practices. A leader in medical education for more than a century, Baystate Health recently established a new regional campus of the University of Massachusetts Medical School, the first medical school campus in western Massachusetts. Baystate Health is also owner of Health New England, a non-profit health plan serving members in Massachusetts and Connecticut. For more information on Baystate Health, visit www.baystatehealth.org.
About Premier Inc.
Premier Inc. (NASDAQ: PINC) is a leading healthcare improvement company, uniting an alliance of approximately 3,750 U.S. hospitals and more than 130,000 other provider organizations. With integrated data and analytics, collaboratives, supply chain solutions, and advisory and other services, Premier enables better care and outcomes at a lower cost. Premier, a Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient, plays a critical role in the rapidly evolving healthcare industry, collaborating with members to co-develop long-term innovations that reinvent and improve the way care is delivered to patients nationwide. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Premier is passionate about transforming American healthcare. Please visit Premier’s news and investor sites on www.premierinc.com for more information about the company.
