[February 04, 2013]

Texas Health Resources Receives National Award for Leadership, Innovation in Care Delivery

Texas Health Resources has received the 2013 Richard A. Norling Premier Alliance Excellence Award for its leadership in accelerating care quality and cost improvements among the nation's largest collaborative network of health systems.

Texas Health is the sole winner among more than 2,700 of the nation's leading hospitals that are members of the Premier healthcare alliance. The award honors the system that has advanced the alliance's work the most during the past year through leadership and collaboration with other health systems.

"Texas Health has been a true partner since joining the alliance 15 years ago, setting care delivery standards and then sharing best practices and lessons learned to the benefit of communities nationwide," said Premier President and CEO Susan DeVore. "They spearhead our efforts to leverage the power of collaboration to achieve higher quality, more cost-effective healthcare - a goal that could not be more appropriate or necessary at this time in our nation's history."

Owned by health systems, including Texas Health, Premier comprises nearly half of the country's acute care hospitals and 90,000 non-acute care sites that work together to lead the movement to better, more affordable care. Premier's leading purchasing network delivers more than $4 billion in annual savings each year. The alliance also aggregates and uses clinical, operational and financial information and technologies to drive evidence-based decisions that improve patient care and reduce costs.

Examples of Texas Health achievements as a member of the Premier alliance include:

• Nine system hospitals are top performers in QUEST^®: High Performing Hospitals, a national performance improvement collaborative with more than 350 participants. Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Azle was the only hospital to receive the 2012 QUEST Award for High-value Healthcare.
• Top performance in the Premier Perinatal Safety Initiative, one of the nation's largest and most sophisticated perinatal improement initiatives reducing harm to babies and mothers, and lowering associated liability claims and pay-outs.
• Texas Health hospitals have consistently been honored by Premier for superior supply chain performance and innovation. And they helped to develop Premier's clinical, labor, supply chain and safety applications.
• Texas Health is a founding member of American Excess Insurance Exchange, RRG, an alliance of systems that own and manage their excess professional and general liability insurance program that is managed by Premier Insurance Management Services.
• System representatives serve on Premier committees that help lead alliance members in efforts to transform and improve healthcare.

One of the largest faith-based, nonprofit health systems in the United States, Texas Health includes 25 hospitals with more than 5,500 physicians with active staff privileges. In 2012, it was recognized by Hospitals & Health Networks as a 2012 Most Wired Innovator; and U.S. News and World Report named four Texas Health hospitals the "most connected" in the U.S., as well as to its Best Hospitals in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area. The system was also named to IMS Health's list of Top 100 Integrated Healthcare Networks.

The health system received the Norling Award on January 29, 2013, during Premier's annual Governance Education Conference in Scottsdale, Ariz. Previous award winners include Bon Secours Health System Inc. and Banner Health.

About Texas Health Resources

Texas Health Resources is one of the largest faith-based, nonprofit health systems in the United States. The health system includes 25 acute care and short-stay hospitals that are owned, operated, joint-ventured or affiliated with Texas Health Resources. It includes the Texas Health Presbyterian, Texas Health Arlington Memorial and Texas Health Harris Methodist hospitals, Huguley Memorial Medical Center, Texas Health Physicians Group, outpatient facilities, behavioral health and home health, preventive and fitness services, and an organization for medical research and education. For more information, call 1.877.THR.WELL (1.877.847.9355), or visit TexasHealth.org.

About the Premier healthcare alliance, Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient

Premier is a performance improvement alliance of more than 2,700 U.S. hospitals and 90,000 other sites using the power of collaboration and technology to lead the transformation to coordinated, high-quality, cost-effective care. Owned by hospitals, health systems and other providers, Premier operates a leading healthcare purchasing network with more than $4 billion in annual savings. Premier also maintains the nation's largest clinical, financial and outcomes database with information on 1 in 4 patient discharges. A world leader in delivering measurable improvements in care, Premier works with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Premier also has an office in Washington. www.premierinc.com. Stay connected with Premier on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

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