Northwest CHC wins quality awards
Libby’s Northwest Community Health Center was recently awarded with several quality improvement awards by the United States Health Resources and Services Administration. The clinic received awards in four categories, totaling $97,644.
“Today’s funding rewards those health centers that are achieving the highest levels of clinical quality performance and improvement,” said the agency’s acting administrator Jim Macrae. “The awards will help health centers continue to provide comprehensive primary care to the nation’s most vulnerable communities.”
Northwest Community Health Center was awarded $33,322 in the Health Center Quality Leaders category, which is for achieving the best overall clinical outcomes among all health centers and demonstrating a dedication to quality in all aspects of clinical operations.
The clinic’s growth in number of patients and services provided helped the center secure a $30,000 award in the Access Enhancers category. The award was based upon the total number of patients served and the number of patients receiving comprehensive care during the 2013 and 2014 calendar years.
The center also received $19,322 in the quality improvement category. The funding award was based upon the center showing a significant improvement in one or more clinical quality measurements between 2013 and 2014, demonstrating a significant improvement in the health of patients.
The final $15,000 award was for the use of electronic health records to report clinical quality measurement data for all patients. The electronic health records are considered the foundation of quality improvement strategies by the agency.
This is the second consecutive year Northwest Community Health Center has earned this type of recognition from the Health Resources and Services Administration. In total, the agency awarded $63.3 million to centers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and seven U.S. territories.
“The entire Northwest Community Health Center team takes pride in providing high quality, efficient care to each and every patient,” executive director Maria Clemons said. “They have worked extremely hard to achieve these goals, and it is an honor to be recognized as a health quality leader.”