North Mississippi Medical Center selects Cogent Healthcare as hospitalist partner

Cogent Healthcare today announced a new affiliation with North Mississippi Medical Center (NMMC), a 650-bed regional health center located in Tupelo, Miss. NMMC is the largest non-metropolitan hospital in the U.S., serving 24 counties spanning Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee.

“In particular, we'll work to expand the service to community physicians, specialists, and patients with the increased capability.”

"We are honored to be selected as the hospitalist partner for NMMC," said Joanne Loeper, Cogent's Chief Operating Officer, Southeast. "A vital institution in northern Mississippi, NMMC is highly regarded nationally for its quality and service excellence. We look forward to collaborating with the well-established team at NMMC to continue providing high quality care to the large region it serves."

North Mississippi Medical Center is a full-service, acute care facility, serving a geographic population of more than 700,000. The hospital is a designated Level II trauma center with a medical staff spanning 40 different medical specialties. In 2006, NMMC was the only hospital to receive the distinguished Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award, recognizing its commitment to providing cost-effective, quality care.

Cogent will lead and support the on-site comprehensive hospitalist services for NMMC, building on a program already in place. With hospital affiliations throughout the U.S., Cogent brings experience in developing a broad array of highly successful hospital medicine programs. Common among all programs is Cogent's System of Care that uniquely combines strong physician leadership with a constant measurement of performance indicators designed to demonstrate value to the hospital and benefit to patient care.

"Cogent truly understands the needs of our hospital and is willing to tailor its programs to meet those needs," said Mark Williams, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of NMMC. "Our arrangement with Cogent tightly aligns our organizations around key goals related to elevating quality and satisfaction, as well as reducing readmission rates. This partnership is reflective of NMMC's main priority - providing access for our community to high quality, efficient healthcare."

This latest collaboration is a continuation of a relationship between Cogent and North Mississippi Medical Center that began in October 2009. The Cogent Group, the consulting arm of Cogent Healthcare, was first engaged to review and provide counsel on how to enhance NMMC's existing hospitalist program. After the assessment was completed, Cogent Healthcare was selected in August to integrate its System of Care model within the existing hospitalist program.

"At NMMC, our plans are to build on the successful hospitalist program already established to maximize the benefits of the service," said Mike Hawkins, M.D., Cogent's Chief Medical Officer, Southeast. "In particular, we'll work to expand the service to community physicians, specialists, and patients with the increased capability."