The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) has announced that UHS Chenango Memorial Hospitals UHS Primary Care offices in Oxford, Sherburne and Sidney have received recognition from the Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) program for using evidence-based, patient-centered processes that focus on highly coordinated care and long-term participative relationships. UHS Primary Care in Norwich was the first of the hospital’s primary care sites to receive this recognition in 2012.

Chris Kisacky, Vice President Operations, explained that this recognition and designation is based on a patient-focused model of care and service delivery that encourages partnerships between individual patients and their personal clinicians to improve the quality and efficiency of care.

Wendy Surdoval, Vice President Quality Management stated, Achieving this recognition was a quality initiative, and making sure that we meet these standards helps us to achieve our own patient-centered care standards. Ms. Kisacky added, The goal of the Patient-Centered Medical Home model is to improve health and health care - to keep our patients healthy and prevent illness when possible, seeking to avoid unnecessary hospitalizations and emergency room visits through more efficient, more coordinated care. NCQA President Margaret E. OKane stated , ... PCMH recognition shows that these practices have tools, systems and resources to provide their patients with the right care at the right time.

To receive recognition, which is valid for three years, the practices demonstrated the ability to meet the programs key elements embodying characteristics of the medical home. The standards are aligned with the joint principles of the Patient-Centered Medical Home established with the American College of Physicians, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Osteopathic Association.

UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital is a member of UHS, a locally owned, not-for-profit, 926-bed hospital and health care system serving the Greater Binghamton region from more than 60 locations around New York’s Southern Tier.