Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, December 13, 1994                   TAG: 9412130063
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: SANDRA BROWN KELLY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

LEWIS-GALE HOSPITAL GETS TOP RATING

The hospital, affiliated with Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp. of Louisville, Ky., got the same rating in 1991. Only about 7 percent of hospitals get the top rating, which was introduced in 1991.

The Salem hospital announced its ranking Monday, but it did not disclose the commission's full report.

For the first time, summaries of the commission's reports will be made public. However, its findings on Lewis-Gale are not yet available for public release because hospitals are allowed time to review the reports before they are distributed.

Later this week, 1,500 "report cards" on institutions inspected this year will be made public. Roanoke Memorial Hospital is in that group.

Once the commission's findings are released, copies of the summaries may be purchased for $30 per institution from the Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.-based agency.

The Joint Commission, which is funded by the American Medical Association and the hospital industry, was founded in 1951. It has no official regulatory function, but its findings can influence a hospital's ability to receive Medicare and Medicaid funds.

The group accredits 11,000 U.S. hospitals. The facilities typically spend about a year preparing for an inspection by a team that includes a doctor, a nurse and an administrator. The team scrutinizes more than 700 items and assigns the facility a score from zero to 100. It also gives recommendations for improvement and scores the hospital on 28 items, including infection control and medication use.