Northwest Health Services, Inc. is the recipient of the Missouri Primary Care Association’s “Gold Level” for Clinical Quality Excellence. The Missouri Primary Care Association announced the award at the annual conference in Branson, Missouri.

Each year, the Missouri Primary Care Association acknowledges community health centers which meet or exceed a set of 10 clinical quality measures selected by chief medical officers throughout Missouri. These quality measures focus on such areas as diabetes​/blood pressure control, depression screenings, smoking cessation, cancer screenings, and weight management. Quality measures help identify weaknesses, prioritize opportunities, and can be used to identify what works and doesn’t work to drive improvement. They can also prevent the overuse, underuse, and misuse of health care services and can identify disparities in care delivery and outcomes. The Clinical Quality Excellence awards are awarded as follows: bronze awards are presented for meeting six out of 10 measured criteria, silver awards are given for meeting seven out of 10 measured criteria, and gold awards are presented for meeting or exceeding eight or more of the 10 measured criteria. ​Northwest Health Services won the silver award last year, and has been awarded the bronze in prior years.

Northwest Health Services met eight of the 10 measured criteria. This is the first time Northwest Health Services has won the gold award.