News and Information

November 18, 2014

CHI Franciscan Health Designated as the First Northwest Accredited Heart Failure System by The Healthcare Colloquium

Tacoma - CHI Franciscan Health has earned the distinction of being the first Accredited Heart Failure System in the Northwest, according to The Healthcare Colloquium, a Battelle company. This announcement was made following a week-long extensive on-site visit. St. Joseph Medical Center earned recognition as an Accredited Heart Failure Institute. St. Anthony Hospital, St. Clare Hospital, St. Elizabeth Hospital, St. Francis Hospital and Harrison Medical Center became Accredited Heart Failure Centers. CHI Franciscan Health is the third Accredited Heart Failure system through The Healthcare Colloquium.

Back Row, L to R: Syd Bersante, president, St. Joseph Medical Center, Cardiovascular service line executive; Rose Bruce, RN, St. Clare Hospital; Chris Thomson, associate vice president, Cardiovascular service line

Front Row, L to R: Susan Eardley, RN, St. Anthony Hospital; Kathy Hague, RN, St. Elizabeth Hospital ; Jeffrey Lewis, MBOE, BSN, RN, LSSBB, member services coach and senior consultant, The Healthcare Colloquium; Frances Greaves, RN, Harrison Medical Center; Rosemary Peterson, MD, cardiologist and medical director, Heart Failure Program; Marisa Gillaspie, RN, St. Francis Hospital ; and Dana Dent, RN, St. Joseph Medical Center

"Heart failure is a chronic condition that primarily strikes people who've suffered heart attack, severe heart valve disease and other conditions that place stress on the heart," explains Cardiologist Rosemary Peterson, M.D., Medical Director for CHI Franciscan Health's heart failure program. "We chose The Healthcare Colloquium as our accreditation body because it provides a framework that enables standardized 'best practices' and coordination of care to occur across our system. Our goal is to meet our patients where they are and provide them with the appropriate level of care."

"This accreditation from The Healthcare Colloquium is testament to the hard work, dedication and expertise of everyone in our heart failure program," says Syd Bersante, president of St. Joseph Medical Center. "We are proud to be Washington's first health care system; and one of only three nationwide, to receive this level of accreditation from the Colloquium. This is recognition that our patients suffering from heart failure are receiving the very best in medical care at our facilities in Pierce, King and Kitsap counties."

"The leadership at CHI Franciscan Health has set visionary goals for patient care," says Jeffrey Lewis, MBOE, BSN, RN, LSSBB, and Member Services Coach & Senior Consultant at The Healthcare Colloquium who reviewed CHI Franciscan Health's work. "In the coming years, I look forward to seeing the fruition of their vision as they raise the standard of patient care. We at The Healthcare Colloquium are committed to assisting CHI Franciscan Health in their quality improvement initiatives."

Colloquium Accreditation Site Surveyor M. Elaine Greer, RN, MN, CCRN, CHFN, says “CHI Franciscan Health has demonstrated leadership in heart failure care and a commitment to the communities they serve. Their initiatives are visionary and will aid in supporting and effectively treating individuals who are living with heart failure.â€ﾝ

The Healthcare Colloquium's unique heart failure accreditation process builds on the member hospital's prior improvement experience leading to initial heart failure accreditation. Member hospitals work within four established domains of heart failure: Community, Hospital, Clinicians, and Science using The Healthcare Colloquium's continuum of care model that leads to:

• an integration of heart failure care, from antecedents to early diagnosis and advanced care
• streamlined processes across the entire continuum of care beginning in the community
• enabling individuals to participate in their own care with more independence and less hospitalization
• collaboration with other Colloquium member hospitals across the country

About CHI Franciscan Health

CHI Franciscan Health includes St. Joseph Medical Center, Tacoma; St. Francis Hospital, Federal Way; St. Clare Hospital, Lakewood; St. Elizabeth Hospital, Enumclaw; St. Anthony Hospital, Gig Harbor; Highline Medical Center, Burien; Harrison Medical Center and Harrison HealthPartners, Kitsap and Olympic peninsulas; Regional Hospital, Tukwila; Franciscan Hospice House, University Place; Franciscan Medical Group clinics and providers, Pierce, King and Kitsap counties; and the Franciscan Foundation. Franciscan is part of Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI), a nonprofit, faith-based health system formed in 1996 through the consolidation of four Catholic health systems. One of the nation's largest health systems, Englewood, Colo. -based CHI operates in 18 states and comprises 93 hospitals; 24 critical access facilities and other facilities that span the inpatient and outpatient continuum of care. In fiscal year 2013, CHI provided more than $762 million in charity care and community benefit, including services for the poor, free clinics, education and research.

About The Healthcare Colloquium, a Battelle Company

As a hospital membership organization based in Columbus, Ohio, The Healthcare Colloquium, a Battelle Company, is comprised of a wide range of member hospitals with a common shared passion: pre-eminence in caring for those with critical illnesses. The Healthcare Colloquium provides an active forum and solutions for the exchange of practices and insights on topics ranging from quality improvement to data analytics and decision support.

CHI Franciscan Health