Stony Brook Southampton Hospital’s Westhampton Primary Care at The Christiane and Richard Hiegel Healthcare Center in Westhampton Beach and the Hospital’s Shinnecock Indian Health Clinic in Southampton were recently certified by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), a private 501(c)(3), not-for-profit organization that is committed to enhancing healthcare quality and performance measures for a plethora of healthcare entities, as Patient-Centered Medical Homes (Level 3).
“The patient-centered medical home (PCMH) is a model of care that aims to transform the delivery of comprehensive primary care to children, adolescents, and adults,” Robert S. Chaloner, Chief Administrative Officer of Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, noted. “The NCQA seal of approval is a widely recognized symbol of quality in health care.”
To achieve the national recognition, the Center and Clinic underwent seven months of updates, including re-engineering processes/workflows, quality performance development, training, and data collection.
Developed by the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Osteopathic Association, Patient-Centered Medical Homes must provide patients with access to a personal physician who supervises the care team within a medical practice; staff a care team that provides wide-ranging care – including acute care, chronic care, preventive services, and end-of-life care, at all stages of life; make sure that clients receive the care and services they require from the medical neighborhood, “in a culturally and linguistically appropriate manner;” observe the quality improvement process and evidence-based medicine to ensure the best patient outcomes; and pledge to improving patients’ access to care.
“We applaud our staff at Westhampton Primary Care and the Shinnecock Indian Health Clinic for their diligence and their commitment to the NCQA standards of superior patient care,” Chaloner added.