Health Information Management Department Receives Excellence in Birth Registration Award

Birth records are a necessity for every patient. Every hospital is required to complete birth registration forms for every baby born in the facility. The data contained within the forms is collected by  Minnesota Department of Health Office of Vital Records and submitted to the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The MDH Office of Vital Records monitors the timeliness and completeness of birth registrations in all Minnesota facilities. Ortonville Area Health Services was notified that the Health Information Management department received the Excellence in Birth Registration Award.

The standard the MDH establishes is that all birth registrations are completed in full and submitted within five days of each birth. The medical facilities that fully complete and submit 98 percent of birth registrations within five days of birth receive the Excellence in Birth Registration Award. For the calendar year 2013, 57 of 104 medical facilities that deliver babies in Minnesota were honored with this award. A greater accomplishment is that of the 57 facilities that received the award, only 19 of those facilities submitted 100 percent of birth registrations within the five day time frame. Ortonville Area Health Services is one of the only 19 medical facilities in Minnesota that submitted 100 percent of birth registrations within the five day window.

This award highlights the Health Information Management team and the excellence of their work. The primary person at OAHS responsible for birth registrations is Kristen Ohm, and her back-up is Joett Nicholson. This award, and achieving 100 percent of our birth registrations completed in full and submitted on time, highlights the teamwork and dedication of Kristen and Joett. Congratulations!