Cardinal Health System maintains elite company

For the sixth year in a row Cardinal Health System has been recognized as one of the nation’s best.

CHS ranks 87th on the 2008 listing of the nation’s Top 100 Integrated Healthcare Networks. The list is compiled by Verispan, a Pennsylvania-based healthcare information company.

Physician participation, services and access, integration and sophistication of technology all played a key role in CHS’ top 100 ranking.

The medical staff associated with Cardinal Health System, comprised of more than 68 specialties, allows CHS, via Ball Memorial Hospital and Blackford Community Hospital to provide centers of excellence such as Cardiology, Cancer, Diabetes Care and specialized services like Cardinal Access. The hospitals affiliated with CHS offer several advanced services including open heart and robotic surgery, cancer rehabilitation, Perinatal services and state of the art wound care.

Internal programs that improve efficiency also factor into the rankings. CHS is participating in the VHA’s Clinical Quality Value Analysis Program where teams within CHS examine all areas and identify where cost savings can be realized by using resources in a more responsible and efficient manner.

A total of 580 non-specialty, local and regional healthcare systems in the United States were included in the survey to determine the top 100 list.

The top 100 listing evaluates each health network’s operation as a unified organization in the following categories:

• Operations
• Quality
• Scope of services
• Efficiency

BMH first Indiana hospital to achieve ISO certification

Ball Memorial Hospital continues to set the standard for Indiana hospitals by becoming the first in the state, and one of 12 in the United States, to earn the prestigious ISO 9001: 2000 certification.

ISO is a family of standards for quality management maintained by the International Organization for Standardizations. Until recently, only manufacturers sought this certification. However, that has changed as other organizations have recognized the value of ISO’s quality management system.

This certification, based on standards developed by the International Standards Organization, indicates BMH complies with an international standard of system management focused on quality, and how the hospital manages its processes or activities to enhance customer satisfaction and meet regulatory requirements while improving its performance.  

ISO 9001:2000 certification recognizes the following quality processes: 

• Improved consistency
• Standardization of processes to reduce errors
• Provision of staff with written resources to guide work activities
• Cost efficiency
• Better management of risks, losses and resources

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Cardinal Health System
2401 West University Ave.
Muncie, IN 47303
(765) 747-3111