SAINT MARY’S AND ADVANTAGE HEALTH PHYSICIANS RECOGNIZED BY THE STATE FOR BEST PRACTICES, IMPROVING PATIENT CARE

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., March 2005 – Physicians from 21 Advantage Health and Saint Mary’s primary care sites received the distinguished 2004 Governor’s Award of Excellence for improving preventive care in the ambulatory care setting during a recognition ceremony held today in Lansing. At a physician conference that was held in conjunction with the award ceremony, Advantage Health Physicians was invited to present best practices in the area of diabetes health.

The award honors health care providers throughout Michigan for performing and sustaining quality improvement activities to improve the care of Medicare patients in the areas of diabetes screening, adult immunizations and mammography screening for breast cancer.

“Saint Mary’s and Advantage Health are committed to providing patients with the best care possible,” said David Blair, M.D., president and chief medical officer of Advantage Health Physicians. “We are very proud to have 71 primary care physicians receive this prestigious award. It serves as an example of our commitment to quality patient care, and as a reminder to our patients that their health is our top priority.”

Susan Viviano, R.N. CCM., senior medical management specialist for Advantage Health Physicians and a presenter at today’s physician conference said her team was, “e xtremely honored” to be asked to present best practices in diabetes.

“Our goal is to improve outcomes for diabetic patients through early diagnosis and disease management to ensure appropriate and timely care she said. “It is our hope that other health care professionals can learn from our practices and, ultimately, we can all help to save lives.”

The Governor’s Award of Excellence is sponsored by the Michigan Peer Review Organization (MPRO) and Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm. The award, which was first offered in 2000, was established with the goal of improving the long-term health of citizens by focusing on strategies to prevent disease, which, in turn, could lower health care costs for Michigan residents.

The 2004 Governor’s Award for Excellence was presented to 198 physicians’ offices statewide.

Advantage Health Physicians is owned by member physicians and Saint Mary’s Health Care. Advantage Health serves more than 200,000 patients in West Michigan. There are 13 primary care physician offices in Kent and Ottawa counties. Saint Mary’s plans to break ground on a full-service ambulatory and outpatient surgery center in 2005. Last year, 17 Advantage Health Physicians & Saint Mary’s Health Care primary care office sites were recognized by Governor Jennifer Granholm as recipients of the 2003 Governor’s Award of Excellence.