Southwestern Medical
Center (SWMC) announced it has been awarded four stars in the latest round of Overall Hospital
Quality Star Ratings released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
(CMS).
SWMC’s Overall Hospital Quality 4-Star Rating puts it among the top 29
percent of all eligible hospitals in the U.S. with respect to patient safety
and the overall patient experience. Only 988 of the more than 4,500 hospitals
rated received five stars. “A lot of hard work and commitment to
following stringent quality standards goes into ensuring our patients receive
safe, high quality care,” said Elizabeth Jones, chief executive officer of
SWMC. “We are proud to have received this recognition from CMS and look forward
to continuing our efforts to enhance healthcare delivery and advance our
mission of Making Communities Healthier.”
The Star Ratings program is designed to
increase healthcare transparency and help patients and their family members
make informed decisions about healthcare. CMS’ Overall Hospital Quality Star
Ratings measure hospitals based on their performance across five quality areas:
mortality, safety of care, readmission, patient experience, and timeliness and
effectiveness of care.
SWMC has launched several initiatives
aimed at further enhancing the quality of care provided to patients, including
executive patient safety rounding, learning boards, and daily briefs.
“We are honored to serve the healthcare
needs of our communities,” Jones said. “I would like to thank our medical staff
and clinical team members for their commitment to our patients and to one
another. It is their dedication that made this four-star rating possible and
will continue to drive our quality improvement initiatives going forward.”
For more information on the Star Ratings
Program, visit the CMS website at Medicare.gov.
For more information on SWMC, visit SWMConline.com.