Banner Payson Medical Center has earned Joint Commission recognition for its patient safety efforts and its evidence-based interventions for heart attack, pneumonia, surgical care and immunization.

As part of its annual quality and safety report, The Joint Commission found Banner Payson to be a “Top Performer” with its key quality measures program which honors hospitals that demonstrate excellent performance on process care measures. The program is based on nationally reported data that are shown to be the best treatments for certain conditions common in hospitals today – heart attacks  and surgical care.

While some 1,000 hospitals earn Joint Commission recognition, the honor is significant since it represents only 30 percent of all hospitals in operation nationally.

“We work extremely hard to provide the best care each and every day for every one of our patients,” said Lance Porter, CEO of Banner Payson Medical Center. “This Joint Commission recognition is a testament to the hard-working and team-focused professionals at Banner Payson Medical Center. We are proud to be recognized for our efforts and for making a difference in people’s lives through excellent patient care.”

To help hospitals achieve patient safety, improve their performance on key measures, and identify target areas for improvement, The Joint Commission launched the Top Performer on Key Quality Measures program in 2011. This program honors hospitals that demonstrate excellent performance on evidence-based process of care measures. Also, it is intended to encourage hospitals to consistently improve performance on accountability measures by publicly recognizing those that ultimately achieve excellence in this arena. The ultimate goal is to improve the care provided to patients in all aspects addressed by these accountability measures.

In 2014, 1,224 hospitals were honored for performance as part of the Top Performer on Key Quality Measures program. Of that number, 24 percent were rural hospitals, 58 percent were nonprofit hospitals, and 47 percent had between 100 and 300 beds. Major teaching hospitals accounted for 7 percent of the recipients and 5 percent were critical access hospitals.

Located in Northern Gila County, Banner Payson Medical Center is a full-service, 44-bed community hospital offering a variety of medical specialties including: rehabilitation, imaging, medical, surgical, maternity and emergency care to residents in the greater Payson area. Banner Payson is part of Banner Health, a nonprofit healthcare system with 29 acute-care hospitals in seven states.