Bartow Regional Medical Center and Heart of Florida Regional Medical Center in Haines City were named the only two Polk County hospitals as top performers in key quality measures by the Joint Commission.

The commission is regarded as a leading accreditor of health care organizations. This is the second consecutive year the Bartow facility was named to the list. There were a total of 620 hospitals named on the list that was announced this month.

Bartow Regional was recognized for its achievement on the following measure sets: Heart Failure and Pneumonia. The ratings are based on an aggregation of accountability measure data reported to The Joint Commission during the 2011 calendar year. The list of Top Performers increased by 50 percent from its debut last year and represents 18 percent of accredited hospitals reporting data.

Brenda Sponsler, the chief nursing officer for Bartow, said that among other things, continuing education for employees and physicians, the implementation of best demonstrated practices for Emergency Room and Inpatient processes, the implementation of evidence based protocols for the appropriate quality indicators, timely monthly internal reporting analyses and monthly operational reviews, as well as the assignment of authority, accountability and responsibility for improvement for all quality indicators.

“We understand that what matters most to patients at Bartow Regional is safe, effective care. That’s why Bartow Regional has made a commitment to accreditation and to positive patient outcomes through evidence-based care processes,” said Troy DeDecker, CEO.