NKC Health Honored With MHA’s Aim For Excellence Award
NKC Health, in North Kansas City, Mo., has been honored with the Missouri Hospital Association’s Aim for Excellence Award. Established in 2016, the Aim for Excellence Award recognizes hospital innovation that improves patient outcomes. The award was presented Nov. 5 at MHA’s 103rd Annual Convention in St. Charles, Mo.
“Every patient deserves the highest quality of care,” said Jon D. Doolittle, MHA President and CEO. “Data helps hospitals pinpoint where improvement is possible and helps teams — at the front line of care and those who support them — build systems to meet and exceed quality benchmarks. The NKC Health team built stronger systems that are improving cardiac care and patient outcomes.”
NKC Health identified that only 28% of patients experiencing a cardiac arrest with ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia were receiving American Heart Association recommended care within AHA’s two-minute clinical guidance. The hospital’s Code Blue Committee, recognizing the critical value of reducing delays in defibrillation, identified and implemented several evidence-based interventions aimed at optimizing time-to-shock performance. Among the core elements were efforts to streamline workflow efficiencies for bedside staff, enhance team-based training for nurses, standardize protocols and implement real-time performance monitoring.
“This award showcases the power of our collective drive to optimize clinical performance,” said Stephen Reintjes Sr., M.D., president and CEO of NKC Health. “The tremendous growth and success our team has achieved in improving patient outcomes speaks to our unwavering commitment and teamwork.”
Between January 2023, when the project was launched, and December 2024, adherence to the AHA-recommended care increased by approximately 43%. The interventions led to decreased length of stay and, most importantly, measurable increases in post-cardiac arrest survival to discharge.
Photo caption: Craig Thompson, P.T., FACHE, CEO of Golden Valley Memorial Healthcare in Clinton, Mo., and 2025 MHA Board Chair, (left) and Jon D. Doolittle, MHA President and CEO of the Missouri Hospital Association (right), present a 2025 Aim For Excellence Award to (left to right) Morgan Swearingin, R.N., MSN-Ed, Critical Care Clinical Education Specialist, Abby Burstert, R.N., BSN, Nursing Manager, Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, and Jennah Irsik, R.N., Performance Improvement Specialist, at NKC Health in North Kansas City, Mo.
Two organizations, Bothwell Regional Health Center, in Sedalia, Mo., and SSM Health in St. Louis, were recognized with Aim For Excellence Award Honorable Mentions.
The Missouri Hospital Association is a nonprofit association in Jefferson City that represents 136 Missouri hospitals. In addition to representation and advocacy on behalf of its membership, the association offers continuing education programs on current health care topics and seeks to educate the public about health care issues.