BY TED M. NATT JR.

Staff Writer

It came as no surprise to Dr. John Moore that Becker's Hospital Review recently named FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital to its annual list of "101 Hospitals with Great Orthopedic Programs."

"Success breeds success," said Moore, an orthopedic surgeon at Pinehurst Surgical Clinic. "We've been able to recruit and retain great orthopedic surgeons and great orthopedic staff because we're providing great care. It's an intelligent group of people who really care about the patient."

Moore and the six other orthopedic surgeons at Pinehurst Surgical work with the three independent orthopedic surgeons in Moore County to provide care for their collective patients.

"It's unique because we don't all practice together," Moore said. "Many of the other hospitals on the list are in metro areas or have well-known academic research programs. It's really an honor for a smaller community hospital to be on the list."

Dr. Jason Guevara, an orthopedic surgeon at Pinehurst Hip & Knee Center, said he is proud of the orthopedic team's accomplishment.

"We've worked really hard to create a world-class orthopedic center, so to be recognized is a real treat," Guevara said. "Our patients are taken care of from start to finish. We do a lot of work on the front end to ensure success on the back end."

Guevara, Moore and the rest of the orthopedic team conduct a monthly meeting that includes doctors, nurses, surgical technicians, physical therapists, discharge planners and nutritionists, among others.

"We've always had a great working relationship because we want to ensure the best care for our patients," Guevara said. "It starts with the leadership and trickles down from there. We're very meticulous, but everybody is on board because they see the results."

The editorial staff at Becker's developed the list by analyzing data from U.S. News & World Report, HealthGrades and Thomson Reuters, as well as the American Nurses Credentialing Center for Magnet status and Blue Cross Blue Shield Association for Blue Distinction status.

After examining those national rankings and accolades, the editorial team performed additional research into each hospital and analyzed the list with industry experts.

Cleverley + Associates, a national health care data and consulting firm, has also recognized Moore Regional as a top-ranked Community Value Provider.

For the second consecutive year, Cleverley named Moore Regional a Five-Star Community Value hospital. For the first time, the hospital was named a Top 100 hospital.

"These awards show that Moore Regional's leadership, quality and value to the community continue to be recognized," FirstHealth CEO David J. Kilarski said in a statement. "We strive to give the communities we serve the highest quality of care while always being mindful that high-quality care also needs to be cost-efficient."

Cleverley bases its annual ranking of hospitals chosen on a Community Value Index (CVI) created to provide an assessment of a hospital's performance in four areas: financial strength and reinvestment, cost of care, pricing, and quality. A CVI-based recognition suggests that a hospital provides value to the community when it is financially viable, appropriately reinvests back into the facility, maintains a low cost structure, has reasonable charges, and provides high-quality care to patients.

The Five-Star recognition places Moore Regional in the top 20 percent of all hospitals in North Carolina for providing exceptional value to the community. The hospital was one of only six North Carolina hospitals named a Community Value Top 100 hospital.

"Moore Regional has always been comparable to larger urban facilities for delivering high-quality care," said Cindy McDonald, FirstHealth's vice president of quality. "Being in the company of institutions like Carolinas Medical Center, Moses Cone Hospital and Mission Hospital in Asheville confirms our long-held assertion that residents of the communities Moore Regional serves have no need to travel far for affordable high-quality health care."

Contact Ted M. Natt Jr. at (910) 693-2474 or tnatt@thepilot.com.