May 11, 2011

SIU Decatur Family Medicine Residency Program Receives Award

SIU Family Physicians in Decatur has received Level One Recognition as a Patient Centered Medical Home from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).

The Decatur program, part of Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, is the first in Macon County to receive the award and one of ten groups in the state recognized in 2010.  Dr. John G. Bradley, professor and associate chair, is director of the program.

A Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) model is used to improve the patients’ quality of health care in a comprehensive way.  It uses a coordinated approach for managing patients, providing responsive care for each one, providing information at the point of care, and changing the focus from care at visits to care over time.

“We are very proud to receive this recognition as a sign of our efforts to enhance medical care for our patients,” said Dr. Susan Klein, assistant professor of family and community medicine who chairs the PCMH committee.  “Because we are still improving our program processes, such as adding a patient care coordinator to work with patients to better manage their chronic diseases, we plan on applying this year for the next level of NCQA recognition.”

The other members of the program’s PCMH committee are – Annette Gilson, family medicine administrator; Laura Law, physician assistant; Danika Holman, office manager; Jill Leonard, nurse/patient care coordinator, and George Tucker, IT support staff.

A not-for-profit organization, NCQA is dedicated to improving health care quality.  Since its founding in 1990, it has been focused on pushing improvement in the health care system and helping elevate the issue of health care quality on the national agenda.

SIU Family Physicians in Decatur, located at 250 W. Kenwood Avenue, was established in 1978.  It is a residency program for training family physicians as well as a clinic where its medical staff cares for patients and their families from all social and economic backgrounds, many of them entire families.  Emphasis is placed on patient education and prevention of illness.  The clinic has approximately 16,000 outpatient visits annually.  The program has six faculty physicians, two physicians assistants, one licensed clinical social worker, 15 resident physicians in training, and 23 support staff.

-30-