Newton Medical Center has earned top honors from the Georgia Hospital Association and the Partnership for Health and Accountability.

The Covington facility has been named to the Chairman's Honor Roll, the highest tier, in the 2009-2010 "Right Care Every Time" Core Measures Honor Roll Recipients.

This year, Newton Medical Center made the jump from the Presidential Honor Roll to the Chairman's Honor Roll, which is the highest level obtainable in the program.

"We are thrilled to have Newton Medical Center and our medical staff recognized in the top tier of Georgia hospitals," said James Weadick, CEO of Newton Medical Center, in a release. "Achieving the Chairman's Honor Roll status has moved us into a leadership position for quality health care and patient safety in the state."

The Partnership for Health and Accountability is a statewide collaborative that brings together health care providers with community agencies and individuals to increase accountability and to achieve safer care and healthier communities, according to the release.

The Core Measures Honor Roll is part of the Partnership of Health and Accountability's "Moving Georgia to the Top Ten" initiative, which aims to raise Georgia's national quality of care ranking.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid rank the states annually using performance standards selected to address specific areas of medical care. The core measures provide benchmarks of care that ensure every patient gets the right care at the right time. As part of the initiative, Georgia hospitals with a core measures rating of 91 percent or better are recognized on the Honor Roll.