Saint Barnabas Health Care System Expands Business Relationship with Thomson ...( STAMFORD Conn. Dec. 3 /- Saint Ba...),Health

STAMFORD, Conn., Dec. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Saint Barnabas Health Care System, New Jersey's largest integrated healthcare delivery system, has expanded its business relationship with Thomson Healthcare (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC), to participate in a clinical benchmarking program focusing on quality improvement initiatives.

The Saint Barnabas System will use the custom solutions expertise of Professional Services from Thomson Healthcare to help achieve its performance improvement goals through the clinical benchmarking program.

"We have a history of commitment to quality improvement and look forward to working with the Thomson Healthcare Professional Services team to collect and integrate data throughout the Saint Barnabas Health Care System. This support will help us continue to focus on quality improvement initiatives to better serve our patients and surrounding communities," said John A. Brennan, M.D., Executive Director of Newark Beth Israel Medical Center.

Hard evidence of Saint Barnabas Health Care System's commitment to improvement is the organization's record of setting national rates of performance improvement in comparison to peer hospitals over five years: Saint Barnabas Medical Center (2006 Thomson 100 Top Hospitals: Performance Improvement Leaders), Clara Maas Medical Center (2005 and 2006 Thomson 100 Top Hospitals: Performance Improvement Leaders), Monmouth Medical Center (2005 Thomson 100 Top Hospitals: Performance Improvement Leaders), and Newark Beth Israel Medical Center (2005 and 2006 Thomson 100 Top Hospitals: Performance Improvement Leaders as well as the 2006 Thomson 100 Top Hospitals: Cardiovascular Benchmarks for Success).

"The Saint Barnabas Health Care System has been a leader in improving hospital-wide performance nationally for the past two years. This means Saint Barnabas hospitals have made very significant increases in the value these hospitals are providing to the local communities," said Jean Chenow
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