Contact: Jennifer Amundson, 612-672-4165

MINNEAPOLIS (June 26, 2006) -- Two Fairview hospitals have been recognized as among the best in the nation for treatment of two dangerous conditions.

Fairview Lakes Medical Center in Wyoming and Fairview Northland Medical Center in Princeton earned top national honors for providing quality care in the areas of acute myocardial infarction (heart attack) and heart failure. Premier Inc, a national healthcare alliance that helps health systems and hospitals monitor quality of care, presented the awards June 21 in Orlando.

"The Premier Award for Quality honors clinical excellence in both quality of clinical care and operational efficiency," says Dan Anderson, president of Fairview Lakes Health Services. "The award defines its winners as industry leaders that deliver outstanding patient care while reducing the cost of health care through effective use of resources."

“This award is a result of our dedicated nursing and medical staff working together as a team with the goal of providing the highest quality patient care you could find anywhere in the country," says Greg Schoen, MD, medical director at Fairview Northland.

The awards were chosen from an eligible pool of 400 health care facilities that submitted data to Premier’s Perspective ™ clinical comparative database, the largest such database in the nation, between Oct. 2004 and Sept. 2005. These centers were evaluated for their clinical quality outcomes, clinical processes and resource utilization.

The Fairview hospitals were two of only seven facilities across the nation to receive awards in more than one category.  Only three Minnesota hospitals received Premier Awards.

Fairview Lakes was also recognized by Premier in 2005 for its work in heart failure and community acquired pneumonia.

Fairview Lakes Medical Center offers complete inpatient hospital and ambulatory services including round-the-clock emergency care, urgent care seven days a week, a pharmacy, six medical clinics and the University of Minnesota Physicians Radiation Therapy Center on site at its Wyoming campus.

Fairview Northland provides full-service, 24-hour patient care through the medical center in Princeton and clinic facilities in Elk River, Milaca, Princeton and Zimmerman.
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