Summit Medical named a trauma center, wins awards

Summit Medical Center has been designated a Level III Trauma Center, and has won two awards from the Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care (AFMC).

The trauma designation was made after a site survey on March 28, 2012. Dr. James Graham and Dr. John Recicar conducted an analysis of the hospital’s readiness to participate in the system, and the Arkansas Department of Health has granted the Trauma III designation for Summit Medical Center.

According to a letter from the Arkansas Department of Health, Graham and Recicar noted that the trauma personnel at the hospital were exceptionally well prepared for the site visit and identified no deficiencies in the trauma program.

“We are very proud of our Trauma Medical Director, Joe Padilla, Jr., M.D., Patty Braun, R.N., Trauma Coordinator, and the entire staff at Summit Medical Center,” Sue Conley, Summit CEO, said in a statement.

Summit also earned a Quality Sustainability Award and Inpatient Prospective Payment System Best Achievement Award during the AFMC’s annual Quality Awards program.

The Quality Awards are designed to recognize improvement in individual health care organizations’ performance in AFMC’s quality improvement projects. The Quality Sustainability Award is given to hospitals that sustain their overall appropriate care measure rates at or above 90 percent from the third quarter of 2009 through the third quarter of 2011.

“The sustainability award is a great achievement and shows the long term commitment of our nurses, physicians, and staff members to the best quality care for the patients of Summit Medical Center,” Conley noted in a statement.

The Inpatient Prospective Payment System Best Achievement Award is given to the two prospective payment system hospitals with the highest appropriate care measure rates for the time period of the fourth quarter of 2010 through the third quarter of 2011.