St. Luke’s Earns Most HAP Achievement Awards in State

Harrisburg, PA—St. Luke’s University Health Network earned an Achievement Award from The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP) for its outstanding efforts to improve health care in the state.

Fourteen awards were selected from 127 submissions for their exceptional work and innovation in patient care, community outreach and staff leadership.

“This is an outstanding achievement,” said St. Luke’s Vice President and Chief Quality Officer Donna Sabol. The project illustrates how St. Luke’s commitment to excellence results not only in better patient outcomes, but also cost savings that are reflected in the Network’s lower prices, she said.

St. Luke’s continues to hold the distinction of winning the most HAP Achievement Awards of any health system in the state, having won 20 awards since 2010.

St. Luke’s winning project, “Developing an Industry-Leading Vaccine Management Program,” identified ways to reduce vaccine storage and handling deficiencies that lead to reduced vaccine efficacy and vaccine wastage.  It was submitted by Tracy Arnold, BSN, RN; Christopher Smoyer, MBA; Mary Harris, BSN, RN; and Dr. Michael Abgott, MD.

Entries were evaluated by a 16-judge panel. The panelists, drawn from Pennsylvania and across the nation, represented the public and private sectors, business organizations, consumer groups and renowned health care quality institutes. The Achievement Awards program began during 1978.

“HAP congratulates the winners of the 2019 Achievement Awards for their dedication to putting the patient at the center of everything they do,” said Andy Carter, HAP’s president and chief executive officer.

“Each winning submission is a reflection of the communities they serve. Their commitment to breaking down siloes, leveraging new and exciting partnerships, and addressing their communities’ most critical needs is a testament to their focus on improving the quality, value, and outcomes of the care they provide.”

About HAP

HAP is a statewide membership services association that represents nearly 240 organizations, as well as the patients and communities they serve. Additional information about HAP is available online at www.haponline.org.

About St. Luke’s

Founded in 1872, St. Luke’s University Health Network (SLUHN) is a fully integrated, regional, non-profit network of more than 15,000 employees providing services at 10 hospitals and over 320 outpatient sites.  With annual net revenue greater than $2 billion, the Network’s service area includes 10 counties: Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe and Schuylkill counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey.  Dedicated to advancing medical education, St. Luke’s is the preeminent teaching hospital in central-eastern Pennsylvania.  In partnership with Temple University, St. Luke’s created the Lehigh Valley’s first and only regional medical school campus.  It also operates the nation’s longest continuously operating School of Nursing, established in 1884, and 28 fully accredited graduate medical educational programs with 226 residents and fellows.  St. Luke’s is the only Lehigh Valley-based health care system with Medicare’s five- and four-star ratings (the highest) for quality, efficiency and patient satisfaction.  St. Luke’s is both a Leapfrog Group and Healthgrades Top Hospital and a Newsweek World’s Best Hospital.  In 2019, three of IBM Watson Health’s 100 Top Hospitals were St. Luke’s hospitals.  St. Luke’s University Hospital has earned the 100 Top Major Teaching Hospital designation from IBM Watson Health seven times total and five years in a row. St. Luke’s has also been cited by IBM Watson Health as a 50 Top Cardiovascular Program.  Utilizing the Epic electronic medical record (EMR) system for both inpatient and outpatient services, the Network is a multi-year recipient of the Most Wired award recognizing the breadth of the SLUHN’s information technology applications such as telehealth, online scheduling and online pricing information.  St. Luke’s is also recognized as one of the state’s lowest cost providers.