Honors and Awards

National and local organizations recently recognized two NKCH programs and two physicians.

Heart Attack Treatment

NKCH received the American College of Cardiology’s National Cardiovascular Data Registry® Chest Pain - MI Registry Platinum Performance Achievement Award, formerly known as the NCDR ACTION Registry Platinum Performance Achievement Award, for the seventh consecutive year. The hospital is one of just 225 hospitals recognized nationwide.

To earn this award, NKCH demonstrated commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of care for heart attack patients. Prior to this, NKCH earned Gold (2011), previously the highest level of recognition, and Silver (2010) awards.

NKCH also sustained achievement in the Chest Pain - MI Registry for eight consecutive quarters and performed at the top level of standards for specific performance measures.

Full participation in the registry engages hospitals in a robust quality improvement process using data to drive improvements in adherence to guideline recommendations and overall quality of care provided to heart attack patients.

“Delivering exceptional cardiac care remains a top priority,” said James Stewart, MD, chief medical officer at NKCH. “We’ve continued to charge staff with the responsibility of meeting industry demands for excellence. This award illustrates how they rise to the challenge.”

Home Health

For the seventh year, NKCH’s Home Health Department has been named to the HomeCare Elite. This honor recognizes the top 25% of all Medicare-certified home healthcare agencies based on performance measures, which include quality outcomes, quality improvement and consistency, patient experience, best practices implementation and financial management.

“I am honored to work with Home Health staff who demonstrate their compassion and commitment on a daily basis,” said Cheryl Foster, director of Home Health. “If it were not for them, we could not be positioned as one of the top agencies in the nation.”

To be considered to the HomeCare Elite, an agency must be Medicare-certified and have data for at least three outcome measures in Home Health Compare, a program created by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to provide the public with information about the quality of care provided by Medicare-certified home health agencies. Of the 8,818 agencies considered, 2,207 were recognized in 2019.

The ranking is developed by ABILITY Network, a leading information technology company that helps providers and payers simplify the administrative and clinical complexities of healthcare. It is sponsored by DecisionHealth, publisher of Home Health Line and the Complete Home Health ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Coding Manual.

Physician Honors

Richard Hellman, MD, FACP, FACE

The Kansas City Medical Society & Foundation recognized Dr. Hellman, an endocrinologist with Hellman & Rosen Endocrine Associates, for actively demonstrating the society’s values of health equity and access. A nationally and internationally recognized endocrinologist, educator, researcher, lecturer and physician leader, Dr. Hellman continues to help the most vulnerable people in the community access the best medical care and uses his expertise to help the uninsured and low-income people he serves through Metro Care and Wy Jo Care. He designed and directed the first comprehensive adult diabetes care program in Kansas City. Dr. Hellman also is the society’s 2017 Lifetime Achievement awardee.

Mangesh D. Oza, MD, FACS

Kansas City’s business magazine, Ingram’s, recognized Dr. Oza, general surgeon with Meritas Health Comprehensive Surgery, as one of Kansas City’s Top Doctors in its October 2019 issue. The magazine selected him for his passion for improving patient outcomes. He helped establish the hospital’s enhanced recovery after surgery protocols (follow-up article), which help bring patients to normal function earlier than current standards.