Fleming County Hospital Named LifePoint Health National Quality Leader

Flemingsburg hospital recognized for achievements in patient and family engagement, quality care and patient safety

Flemingsburg, KY (May 10, 2022) – Fleming County Hospital today announced that it has been named a LifePoint Health National Quality Leader. This designation recognizes hospitals within the LifePoint Health system that have enrolled in the LifePoint National Quality Program (NQP) and succeeded in transforming their culture of safety and achieving high standards of quality care, performance improvement and patient engagement.

“We are honored to be named the newest National Quality Leader in the LifePoint Health family,” said Joe Koch, market president and chief executive officer at Fleming County Hospital. “Our team at Fleming County Hospital has worked tirelessly to provide the highest level of quality patient care, safety and satisfaction and has done so even amidst a global pandemic. This designation is a huge achievement for our hospital and a promise to our community that we will continue to further improve the care and service we provide.”

Located in the Buffalo Trace region, Fleming County Hospital is a 25-bed facility that has served Northeastern Kentucky for more than 60 years. Rebuilt in 2008 and acquired by LifePoint Health in 2015, Fleming County Hospital employs approximately 100 staff, maintains accreditation by The Joint Commission and is a designated Chest Pain Center by the American College of Cardiology. To achieve LifePoint Health National Quality Leader designation, the Fleming County Hospital team worked to implement several best practices and launch new initiatives to engage patients and families, enhance patient safety and improve quality care.

Since beginning the NQP process in 2016, Fleming County Hospital has made a comprehensive effort to improve quality by undertaking initiatives such as: developing a specific patient safety protocol to help prevent patient falls; reorganizing and maintaining emergency department supply room protocols resulting in quicker response times for staff; establishing protocols to identify and mitigate patient pressure injuries; establishing a recurring skills fair which serves to remind and re-educate staff on the identification and evaluation of safety protocols; and so much more. Leadership, physicians, nurses and staff also receive annual education on National Patient Safety Goals, and more staff each year achieve the esteemed Certified Professional in Patient Safety (CPPS) credential, which is the highest level of safety certification available.

“Fleming County Hospital sets the bar high when it comes to quality and patient safety, and we are pleased to recognize the team’s notable achievements by naming them a LifePoint Health National Quality Leader,” said Victor Giovanetti, FACHE, CEC, president, hospital operations for LifePoint Health. “Achieving this level of success despite the unprecedented challenges over the past two years of the pandemic shows how committed the hospital is to delivering the best possible care no matter the circumstances. Their exceptional work advances our mission of Making Communities Healthier in meaningful ways, and we could not be more proud of their accomplishments.”

When hospitals enroll in the National Quality Program, they begin working with LifePoint quality experts to evaluate and strengthen their quality programs and processes. Following an initial evaluation, the hospital creates a plan and begins to deploy changes that will help it achieve quality improvement benchmarks and establish long-term solutions to sustain its results. 

In addition to evaluating common quality care and patient safety metrics, the LifePoint National Quality Program focuses on foundational elements required to sustain quality care, including committed leadership, systems to ensure continuous performance and process improvement, and a culture dedicated to safety. LifePoint Health National Quality Leader designation denotes those hospitals that have achieved a broad range of criteria in each of these areas and demonstrate a capacity to continuously measure and improve quality and patient safety. 

“We want our community to always count on Fleming County Hospital for exceptional patient care,” added Crissy Truster, RN, CPPS, director of quality and case management at Fleming County Hospital. “Our team is proud to carry out our mission of Making Communities Healthier each and every day, and we look forward to serving the people in the Buffalo Trace region for generations to come.”

About Fleming County Hospital

Fleming County Hospital is a 25-bed critical access hospital that has provided care and services to residents of the Buffalo Trace region for over 60 years.  Centrally located in Fleming County, our facility, which was rebuilt in 2008 and acquired by LifePoint Health in 2015, features private rooms for acute care and swing bed services, operating rooms, imaging, and other outpatient services, as well as an Emergency Department. With approximately 100,000 sq. ft., it serves residents of Fleming and surrounding counties and employs nearly 100 staff members all dedicated to the wellness of our region.  Fleming County Hospital’s reputation as an organization with a Culture of Safety, continuous quality improvement, patient-centered care, and professionalism has allowed it to maintain its accreditation with The Joint Commission, receive Chest Pain Accreditation through the American College of Cardiology, and achieve designation as a LifePoint Health National Quality Leader.  For more information, visit FlemingCountyHospital.org.