PATIENTS BENEFIT FROM VALLEY BAPTIST'S COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE

Las Vegas, Nevada, Nov. 15, 2007 –- Nurses, physicians, and staff at Valley Baptist Health System were honored with three international awards recognizing their dedication to excellence and the resulting positive health outcomes for patients at Valley Baptist Medical Center-Brownsville and Valley Baptist Medical Center-Harlingen.

The awards include the highest honor bestowed by the Worldwide Conventions and Business Forums’ Global Six Sigma Summit – the “Platinum Award for the Most Outstanding Organizational Achievement through Six Sigma.” This award is presented for the most outstanding achievement in improving quality by an organization from any industry – not just health care.

In addition, Valley Baptist and its employees received two other awards -- "Best Achievement of Six Sigma in Healthcare" and “Six Sigma VP of the Year,” which was presented to Dr. Tomas A. Gonzalez of Valley Baptist during the Global Summit held in Las Vegas, Nevada, Oct. 24-26, 2007.

“These latest awards are testaments to the hard work and dedication of our nurses, staff and physicians,” said James G. Springfield, President and CEO of Valley Baptist Health System. “The great thing is that when Valley Baptist wins awards for quality care, it is an indication that our patients are winning, too – through improved health care that saves lives and brings healing to the people of our communities.”

 The awards presented in Las Vegas are the latest in a series of accolades recognizing the hard work and commitment of Valley Baptist employees to providing quality patient care. This summer, the American Heart Association recognized Valley Baptist-Brownsville as the only hospital in Texas – and one of only 12 in the nation – for its “Triple Crown” award for treatment of coronary artery disease, heart failure, and stroke. And in January, Valley Baptist-Harlingen was ranked the #1 hospital in the entire nation for treating heart failure patients -- and #2 in Texas for treating heart attack patients -- by the U.S. Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services in its Hospital Quality Incentive Demonstration Initiative.

“These national and international awards are great, but what is really important is that the dedication of our staff is making care for Valley patients among the best in the nation,” said Tomas A. Gonzalez, MD, MBA, Chief Quality Officer for Valley Baptist Health System. “The care provided by Valley Baptist employees is making a real difference every day in the lives of thousands of our Valley families.”

Valley Baptist has been a pioneer in applying innovative quality improvement methods to the health care setting. One of the tools Valley Baptist has used to improve its quality outcomes is Six Sigma, a comprehensive and flexible program for achieving, sustaining and maximizing successful quality results for patients. The Valley Baptist program incorporates “personal touch” - determining the expectations of patients, family members and physicians – with facts, data and statistical analysis that are used to manage and improve processes. The goal is to ensure that patients consistently receive the best treatments - those that have been identified through scientific studies – to treat and manage their medical conditions.

“Our quality improvement efforts have enabled us to decrease the mortality rate from heart attack by 60% and to significantly reduce ventilator-associated pneumonia in our intensive care units,” Dr. Gonzalez added.

Quality results at Valley Baptist are available for the public to view on-line at www.ValleyBaptist.net.