Union City, Tenn., April 28, 2008- Baptist Memorial Hospital-Union City recently received a 2008 VHA Leadership Award for Clinical Excellence in pneumonia care.

The VHA Leadership Award honors organizations that have achieved national performance standards in specific clinical categories. Baptist Union City earned its award because the hospital is ranked in the top 10 percent in the nation for pneumonia care according to data from the Joint Commission, an independent, not-for-profit organization that accredits and certifies more than 15,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States. Baptist Union City earned VHA Leadership Awards for Clinical Excellence in cardiac care in 2006 and 2007.

“This is a great honor for us,” said Don Hutson, administrator and CEO of Baptist Union City. “Our physicians and staff work so hard every day to provide high-quality care to our patients, and I’m glad they continue to be recognized for their efforts.”

VHA Inc., based in Irving, Texas, is a national alliance that provides supply chain management services and supports the formation of regional and national networks to help members improve their clinical and economic performance. With 16 offices across the United States, VHA serves more than 1,400 not-for-profit hospitals and more than 21,000 nonacute care organizations nationwide.

Baptist Union City, formerly Obion County General Hospital, became part of Baptist Memorial Health Care in 1982. In 1995, construction was completed on a new three-story, 85,000-square-foot patient tower. This construction added patient rooms and tripled the size of the emergency department. The 173-bed facility is located in the northwest corner of Tennessee, just south of the Kentucky border. Services include behavioral health, home care and hospice, physical therapy, cancer treatment and a 24-hour emergency room.

For more information about Baptist Union City, please call 731-885-2410 or visit unioncity.baptistonline.org.

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