Select Medical Bolsters Commitment To Patient Safety And Quality

MECHANICSBURG, Pa.,  /PRNewswire/ -- Select Medical Holdings Corporation, the parent of Select Medical Corporation (collectively, "Select Medical"), today announced that it has formed a component Patient Safety Organization (PSO) that has been federally listed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). AHRQ, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the lead Federal agency charged with improving the safety and quality of America's health system. The PSO listing represents a special designation by AHRQ regarding an organization's commitment to patient safety and quality.

"Select Medical has always been guided by its mission to deliver an exceptional patient experience," said David Chernow, President and Chief Executive Officer at Select Medical. "The formation of a PSO further underscores the vital importance of quality and safety as it relates to outcomes for the 60,000 patients that we treat every day across the country."  

The component PSO, which has been named Select Medical Patient Safety and Quality Institute (SMPSQI), will provide valuable patient safety and quality information to the Quality of Care and Patient Safety Committee ("Committee") of the Select Medical Board of Directors. The Committee has oversight responsibilities for Select Medical's enterprise-wide patient safety and evaluation system established pursuant to the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005 (Patient Safety Act). Joan Alverzo, Ph.D., CRRN has been appointed to serve as the SMPSQI Chief Administrative and Clinical Officer. She will execute her duties with the assistance of a designated steering committee. Alverzo previously served as a senior executive and chief nursing officer with Select Medical and its Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation for 32 years. 

SMPSQI will review data from Select Medical's nearly 100 critical illness recovery hospitals and 26 inpatient rehabilitation hospitals to identify trends and opportunities for improvement. SMPSQI will work closely with existing internal committees that are part of each hospital's patient safety evaluation system. The additional information provided by SMPSQI will improve the patient safety evaluation processes in our nationwide network of specialty hospitals through sharing data, lessons learned, and best practices. This collaboration will allow participating specialty hospitals to more fully integrate their quality program and patient safety strategy into established goals.    

For additional background about the Patient Safety Act and the creation of PSOs to improve quality and safety by reducing the incidence of events that adversely affect patients, visit:  https://www.pso.ahrq.gov/.

About Select Medical
Select Medical is one of the largest operators of critical illness recovery hospitals (previously referred to as long-term acute care hospitals), rehabilitation hospitals, outpatient rehabilitation clinics, and occupational health centers in the United States based on the number of facilities. As of September 30, 2018, Select Medical operated 97 critical illness recovery hospitals in 27 states, 26 rehabilitation hospitals in 11 states, and 1,649 outpatient rehabilitation clinics in 37 states and the District of Columbia. Select Medical's joint venture subsidiary Concentra operated 525 occupational health centers in 41 states. Concentra also provides contract services at employer worksites and Department of Veterans Affairs' community-based outpatient clinics. At September 30, 2018, Select Medical had operations in 47 states and the District of Columbia. Information about Select Medical is available at www.selectmedical.com.

Media Contact:  Shelly Eckenroth, Select Medical, 717.920.4035 or seckenroth@selectmedical.com

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SOURCE Select Medical