INTEGRIS Blackwell Regional Hospital Earns 2004 Quality Award

(Oklahoma City) – INTEGRIS Blackwell Regional Hospital earned a 2004 Quality Award from the Oklahoma Foundation for Medical Quality for their work to improve the care given to Medicare beneficiaries. INTEGRIS Blackwell Regional was the only hospital in Kay County to receive this award

The inpatient awards were presented at the Oklahoma Hospital Association Conference November 11. Jim Williams, President and CEO of Oklahoma Foundation for Medical Quality (OFMQ), presented the awards and commended each of the 2004 award winners for their commitment to improving the quality of health care in Oklahoma.

"These hospitals all demonstrated a commitment to improving the quality of the care they deliver," Williams said. "The strides they made required time, resources and the application of a team approach. The 2004 Quality Award winners should be commended for their sacrifices and achievements to make Oklahoma a leader in inpatient care."

The quality awards were designed to recognize individual hospital performance improvement in the four national hospital quality projects chosen by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS): acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, surgical infection prevention and pneumonia. To be eligible for the award, hospitals had to demonstrate a 20 percent decrease in the failure rate or sustain a 90 percent or higher improvement rate in eight quality indicators on the inpatient projects.

OFMQ, the Medicare quality improvement organization for Oklahoma, coordinates the CMS hospital projects under the Health Care Quality Improvement Program. OFMQ’s Health Care Quality Improvement team assists the hospitals in identifying systems approaches to improving care, provides resources and acts as a conduit for sharing best practices and systems changes between hospitals.

Award recipients: Jackson County Memorial Hospital, Deaconess Hospital, Pauls Valley General Hospital, Duncan Regional Hospital, Comanche County Memorial Hospital, St. Francis Hospital at Broken Arrow, Valley View Regional Hospital, INTEGRIS Blackwell Regional Hospital, INTEGRIS Clinton Regional Hospital, Claremore Regional Hospital, INTEGRIS Mayes County Medical Center, McAlester Regional Health Center, Norman Regional Hospital, Stillwater Medical Center, Eastern Oklahoma Medical Center, INTEGRIS Grove General Hospital, Mercy Health Center, St. John Medical Center, INTEGRIS Southwest Medical Center, INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center, Tahlequah City Hospital, Cushing Regional Hospital, Oklahoma Heart Hospital, INTEGRIS Baptist Regional Health Center, Mary Hurley Hospital, Choctaw Nation Health Services, Woodward Regional Hospital, OU Medical Center, Tulsa Regional Medical Center, Bristow Medical Center, Jane Phillips Memorial Medical Center and St. Francis Hospital – Tulsa.

Oklahoma Foundation for Medical Quality is a nonprofit organization working with doctors, hospitals, nursing homes, home health agencies, Medicare and Medicaid to improve quality of health care for all Oklahomans.

This material was developed under Contract Number 500-02-OK-03, with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The conclusions and opinions expressed, and methods used herein, are those of the Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) of the state of Oklahoma. They do not necessarily reflect CMS policy. 7S0W-OK-QAPR-11-04

Becky Hutton, Governing Board Chairperson at INTEGRIS Blackwell Regional Hospital, welcomed Rex Van Meter as the new hospital Administrator to employees in November “As a board we could clearly see Rex’s dedication and commitment to not only the hospital, but the community as well. We are just delighted to have his leadership at the hospital” stated Mrs. Hutton.

Van Meter joined INTEGRIS Blackwell Regional Hospital in 2001 as Chief Financial Officer. Before joining INTEGRIS, he served for four years as the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer at Brookhaven Hospital in Tulsa. His career has also taken him to Enid where he was Chief Financial Officer at Meadowlake Hospital.

Van Meter has been active in the Blackwell community, serving on the Blackwell Chamber of Commerce for four years, the Executive Board for three, and he is completing his term as President this year. He has also served on the Blackwell School Board for two years.

Van Meter earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting at Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva. He will receive his Masters in Health Care Administration from Trinity University in San Antonio in July. He and his wife, Deborah, have two daughters Aubree, 7, and Ashlee, 3.