IRVING, TX -- (Marketwire) -- 05/21/12 -- VHA Inc., the national health care network, has awarded 28 of its member hospitals its 2012 VHA Leadership Award for Clinical Excellence. Announced yesterday at the annual VHA Leadership Conference in Denver, Colo., members were recognized for meeting or exceeding national performance standards for clinical care and patient experience.

VHA gives its Leadership Award for Clinical Excellence annually to recognize organizations that achieve top performance on clinical core measures established and tracked by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, including the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Health Providers and Services (HCAHPS) survey, which measures hospital patient satisfaction nationwide.

The 2012 VHA Leadership Award winners for Clinical Excellence are:

Acute Care Hospitals, Bed size greater than 250

• Baptist Hospital of Miami/Baptist Children's, Miami, Fla.
• Baptist Hospital, Inc., Pensacola, Fla.
• Doctors Hospital, Coral Gables, Fla.
• Forsyth Medical Center, Winston-Salem, N.C.
• Grant Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio
• Presbyterian Hospital, Charlotte, N.C.
• Princeton Baptist Medical Center, Birmingham, Ala.
• Rochester Methodist Hospital, Rochester, Minn.

Non-Critical Access, Acute Care Hospitals Bed size less than 250

• Baylor- Jack and Jane Hamilton Heart and Vascular Hospital, Dallas, Tex.
• Hughston Hospital, Inc., Columbus, Ga.
• Mariners Hospital, Tavernier, Fla.
• Medical Park Hospital, Winston-Salem, N.C.
• Parkview Whitley Hospital, Columbia City, Ind.
• Presbyterian Orthopaedic Hospital, Charlotte, N.C.
• Rowan Regional Medical Center, Salisbury, N.C.
• Sutter Maternity and Surgery Center, Santa Cruz, Calif.
• Vidant Edgecombe Hospital, Tarboro, N.C.
• Walker Baptist Medical Center, Jasper, Ala.

Critical Access, Acute Care Hospitals

• Blue Hill Memorial Hospital, Blue Hill, Maine
• Bucyrus Community Hospital, Bucyrus, Ohio
• Community Hospital of Anaconda, Anaconda, Mont.
• First Care Medical Services, Fosston, Minn.
• Mayo Regional Hospital, Dover-Foxcroft, Maine
• Millinocket Regional Hospital, Millinocket, Maine
• Mount Desert Island Hospital, Bar Harbor, Maine
• Providence St Joseph Hospital, Chewelah, Wash.
• Sebasticook Valley Hospital, Pittsfield, Maine
• Spectrum Health Reed City Hospital, Reed City, Mich.

"The VHA Leadership Award for Clinical Excellence acknowledges the outstanding achievements these 28 hospitals have made to provide their patients with consistently high levels of clinical care combined with an improved patient experience," said Steve Miff, PhD, VHA's senior vice president for performance management. "The leaders and staff at each of these 28 award-winning VHA hospitals have demonstrated the commitment, focus and collaboration required to implement the best possible programs and processes that produce sustainable results and promote and improve exceptional patient communications, experience and superior clinical outcomes."

VHA serves more than 1,350 not-for-profit hospitals and more than 30,000 non-acute health care organizations nationwide. By recognizing these award-winning institutions, VHA hopes that other hospitals and health systems will apply these leading practices to identify ways to improve patient care and drive clinical excellence within their own organizations.

For more information on VHA, go to www.vha.com.

About VHA Inc.
Based in Irving, TX, VHA Inc. is a national network of not-for-profit health care organizations that work together to drive maximum savings in the supply chain arena, set new levels of clinical performance, and identify and implement best practices to improve operational efficiency and clinical outcomes. Since 1977, VHA has leveraged its expertise in analytics, contracting, consulting and networks to help members achieve their operational, clinical and financial objectives. In 2011, VHA delivered record savings and value of $1.8 billion to members. VHA serves more than 1,350 hospitals and more than 30,000 non-acute care providers nationwide, coordinating delivery of its programs and services through its 15 regional offices. VHA has been ranked as one of the best places to work in healthcare by Modern Healthcare since the publication introduced this list in 2008.