Private Hospitals Acknowledged for Outstanding Results

Four leading hospitals were congratulated for outstanding results tonight at the 29^th Annual APHA Awards for Quality and Excellence ceremony held in Melbourne at the Grand Hyatt.

Epworth Eastern Hospital in Melbourne has won the 2009 APHA Award for Clinical Excellence. The award recognises private hospitals that have excelled in the provision of clinical treatment and have demonstrated excellence in patient care across the entire hospital operation. It recognised Epworth Eastern for running an exceptional program of excellence to improve patient outcomes. In the last 12 months the hospital has significantly reduced its rate of patient falls, pressure ulcers and medication errors.

Belmont Private Hospital in Brisbane has won the 2009 APHA Award for Ambulatory Care for its General Practice Liaison and Assessment Service (GLAS). The award recognises private hospitals that have excelled in the provision of clinical treatment and demonstrated excellence in patient care in an ambulatory care setting. The GLAS program at Belmont Private is an outpatient service to provide consultation liaison support for General Practitioners and their patients who require mental health services. Belmont Private is the only private hospital in Australia with a program of this type to provide liaison between GPs and Psychiatrists.

Kareena Private Hospital in Caringbah, NSW and the Marian Centre in Perth were joint winners of the 2009 APHA Award for Community Involvement.  The award recognises the contribution of a private hospital to the broader local community and the judges decided to award an unprecedented two awards. Kareena Private won for their ‘Events and Happenings Calendar’ which provides a number of important health awareness programs for their local community. The Marian Centre has won the award for their Supporters Group Program which encourages healthy connections between patients with mental illness and their supporters to achieve better discharge outcomes.

“All of the award winners tonight should be extremely proud of the work they do,’ said Michael Roff, Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Private Hospitals Association. “These awards recognise the pursuit and achievement of excellence by private hospitals, and highlight the high quality and innovative services they provide.”

Media contact for interviews with the winners or more background on any of their winning projects: Lisa Ramshaw, APHA Public Affairs Manager on 0413 971 999

APHA Awards for Quality and Excellence are sponsored by Baxter Health Care