DORCHESTER -- Caritas Carney Hospital has been honored by the Premier healthcare alliance with the 2007 Premier CareScience Select Practice National Quality Award for superior patient outcomes in both quality and efficiency.

Caritas Carney Hospital is one of only 49 hospitals nationally, the top 1 percent of acute inpatient facilities, recognized with the Select Practice Award. Among the more than 4,700 acute care inpatient facilities in the United States eligible to receive the award, Carney Hospital exhibited the highest performance level in both quality and efficiency of patient care. Caritas St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center also received the award.

“We are pleased to recognize this elite group of hospitals from across the nation that offer the highest quality and most efficient patient care,” said Richard A. Bankowitz, vice president and medical director for CareScience. “These hospitals represent the country’s elite health care facilities for patient care based on performance using objective measures of clinical outcomes and efficiencies.”

Health care facilities cannot apply for the award. Carney Hospital was identified as a top performer in quality and efficiency among all acute care facilities in the Medicare Provider Analysis and Review 2005 data.

“Caritas Carney physicians and employees are dedicated to providing the highest quality of care to our patients and I am thrilled that we are being recognized nationally for our efforts,” said Doctor Daniel O’Leary, president of Carney Hospital.

“This honor reflects the standards of excellence to which we hold ourselves accountable, and I am proud of our commitment to ensure our patients consistently receive excellent, compassionate care,” he said.

Select Practice Award data includes 16 different clinically relevant indicators of risk, more than any other national quality award or designation. The quality index is calculated by combining the outcome deviations for mortality, morbidity and complications into a single quality measure for each facility. The combined quality and efficiency ratings are used to determine the award recipients.

Caritas Carney Hospital is a 186-bed community teaching hospital affiliated with Tufts University School of Medicine and a member of Caritas Christi Health Care, the second largest health care system in New England. Caritas Carney Hospital provides a wide range of services including primary care medicine, a wide range of surgical specialties and subspecialties, inpatient and outpatient psychiatry, emergency medicine, critical care, pediatrics, cardiology, neurology and ambulatory services.