EvergreenHealth Earns Five-Star CMS Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating
Health system receives highest rating for quality and safety 7 years in a row
Kirkland, Wash.—EvergreenHealth Medical Center recently became one of seven hospitals in the Seattle area to receive a five-star overall rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), putting the health care organization in the top 13% of over 4,500 hospitals nationwide.
Achieving a five-star rating represents EvergreenHealth's high scores across a range of quality measures and places it alongside just 431 other hospitals in the nation for quality. The overall CMS hospital rating ranges from one to five stars, with more stars reflecting higher performance. This is the seventh year in a row EvergreenHealth has received this honor.
CMS' Hospital Compare tool evaluates quality measures in five key areas to calculate overall ratings for qualifying hospitals, including patient outcomes data such as mortality, safety of care, and readmission, combined with direct patient feedback on patient experience and the effectiveness and timeliness of care. For example, 92% of cancer patients reported that they received the appropriate radiation therapy at EvergreenHealth for cancer that spread to the bone—11% higher than the state average. Additionally, the time patients spent waiting in the emergency department before being admitted to the hospital as an inpatient was measured to be nearly 40 minutes less than the state average.
"EvergreenHealth was the first hospital in Washington State to receive a 5 Star CMS rating, and we have continued to achieve this recognition for the better part of a decade. This honor is the result of a sustained commitment to safe, compassionate, highest quality care by our staff and physicians," said Jeff Tomlin, MD, EvergreenHealth CEO. "It takes highly trained and dedicated people working with the latest technology and equipment to achieve the best possible outcomes our patients deserve. We are extremely proud to receive this recognition, knowing that we are continually on the journey to do even better in enriching the health and well-being of every life we touch."
Hospital Compare is part of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospital Quality Initiative, which uses a variety of tools to help hospitals improve the quality of care they deliver. The Initiative's long-term goal is to help improve hospitals' quality of care through easy-to-understand data on hospital performance and quality information gathered directly from patients. Patients are encouraged to use Hospital Compare as a tool for planning their next hospital visit—for treatment other than emergency care—to compare the quality of care at various hospitals in their area.
Learn more about EvergreenHealth's commitment to quality, safety and exceptional care at www.evergreenhealth.com/quality.
