Shenandoah Community Health Receives National Quality Leader Recognition

August 28, 2019

Recently, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced nearly $107 million in Quality Improvement Awards to 1,273 health centers across nearly all U.S. states, territories and the District of Columbia. Funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), health centers will use these awards to improve the quality, efficiency, and value of the health care they provide. These awards recognize the highest performing health centers nationwide as well as those health centers that have made significant quality improvement gains from the previous year. Shenandoah Community Health was recognized in four categories, which included a national award for achievements in clinical quality improvement, care delivery efficiency, and the overall value of health care in the communities they serve.

HRSA's Quality Improvement Awards recognize the work that health centers do to address health priorities by designating health centers that ranked in the top 1-2% in one or more key areas—behavioral health, diabetes prevention and management, and heart health—as National Quality Leaders. The top 30% of health centers that achieve the best overall clinical performance receive designation as Health Center Quality Leaders.

These awards also recognize health center achievements in other areas, including improving cost-efficient care delivery while also increasing quality of care, reducing health disparities, increasing both the number of patients served and patients' ability to access comprehensive services, advancing the use of health information technology, and delivering patient-centered care.

Pam Kania, Regional Administrator, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), visited Shenandoah Community Health on Monday August 26, to present SCH CEO, Michael Hassing, with the following awards:

• National Quality Leader SCH ranked in the top 1-2% of all health centers in one or more of the clinical quality measures that promote behavioral health, diabetes health, and heart health.
• Health Center Quality Leader SCH ranked in the top 20% among all health centers for the best overall clinical performance.
• Advancing Health Information Technology (HIT) for Quality Award SCH was recognized as a health center that utilized five HIT services and/or telehealth services to increase access to care and advance quality of care.
• Patient Centered Medical Home Recognition SCH was recognized as a health center with patient centered medical home (PCMH) recognition in one or more delivery sites.For more than 50 years, health centers have delivered affordable, accessible, quality, and cost-effective primary health care services to patients. Today, nearly 1,400 health centers operate approximately 12,000 service delivery sites that provide care to more than 28 million patients nationwide. For more information on your community health center, Shenandoah Community Health, visit www.shencommhealth.com.
• By providing patients access to high quality, value-based care, health centers are uniquely positioned to meet the nation's most pressing health care needs, as well as emerging health priorities. HRSA-funded health centers are the first line of care in combatting the nation's opioid crisis. In 2018, health centers screened nearly 1.1 million people for substance use disorder and ultimately provided medication-assisted treatment to nearly 95,000 patients nationwide.

For more than 50 years, health centers have delivered affordable, accessible, quality, and cost-effective primary health care services to patients. Today, nearly 1,400 health centers operate approximately 12,000 service delivery sites that provide care to more than 28 million patients nationwide. For more information on your community health center, Shenandoah Community Health, visit www.shencommhealth.com.