Northeast News
September 24, 2014

Kansas City, Missouri – The Samuel U. Rodgers Health Center has become the only federally qualified health center in Kansas City, Mo., to be recognized as a Patient Centered Medical Home by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).

The NCQA is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality.

The health center received Level 3 Recognition, the highest designation possible, last year for its Northeast campus and applied at that time to receive the same recognition for its practice offices located in the Northland and in Lexington, Mo. Cabot Westside currently has Level 3 Recognition, also.

In a press release, Hilda Fuentes, the health center’s chief executive officer, said it’s gratifying to know that the NCQA recognizes their ability to provide quality health care that is “primarily centered around our patients’ need.”

“This additional recognition validates the hard work, time and effort our clinicians and management staff have invested to improve our patient care outcomes and processes,” Fuentes said.

According to the NCQA, Patient Centered Medical Home recognition is the most widely adopted model for transforming primary care practices into “medical homes,” a model of care that emphasizes care coordination and communication to transform primary care into “what patients want it to be.” In a set of standards that describe specific criteria, the program recognizes providers who organize care around patients, who work in teams, and who coordinate and track care over time.