Hospital achieves high quality and safety ratings
PRESQUE ISLE — The Aroostook Medical Center in Presque Isle recently earned recognition for both safety and quality of care by national organizations. This fall TAMC received an “A” for safety from Leapfrog, 4 stars for quality from CMS and Best Performer and Exceeding Quality Awards from Avatar for 2016.
While TAMC is proud of these recognitions, it is what these awards represent that truly matters, according to Dr. Jay Reynolds, chief medical officer.
“While it is nice to get recognized for the great work we do, the real reward is in knowing we put our patients’ well-being first,” said Reynolds.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released their second “Star Rating” scorecard, which rates hospitals across the country on quality measures on a scale of one (poor) to five (excellent) stars. The star rating system went into effect in July of this year. TAMC earned four stars, the highest rating of any Maine hospital, both in July and now again in CMS’ October report.
The star rating takes 64 existing quality measures and summarizes these measures into a unified rating. The hospital quality measures involved in the rating include those involving process of care, outcomes of care, patient experience, patient safety and value.
Nationwide, only about 2 percent of hospitals earned five stars, and none of those were in Maine. However, nearly half of Maine hospitals (16 out of 33) were given a four-star rating, including TAMC, Fort Kent’s Northern Maine Medical Center and Houlton Regional Hospital in Aroostook County.
“It speaks volumes about the quality of healthcare in Maine that we are more than double the national average for four and five stars combined,” said Reynolds. “While nationwide, 23 percent earned a four- or five-star rating, in Maine 48 percent of hospitals have that distinction.”
In late October, The Leapfrog Group released their latest report card. This national organization assigns A, B, C, D and F letter grades to 2,633 U.S. hospitals biannually based on 30 measures of publicly available hospital safety data, representing a hospital’s capacity to keep patients safe from preventable harm. TAMC once again earned an A grade, one of 844 hospitals nationwide to do so.
“The Leapfrog Hospital Survey is the nation’s gold standard in evaluating hospital performance on quality, safety and resource use,” said Roland Joy, MSN, BSBA, RN, vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer. “By using national performance measures over a broad spectrum of hospital services, processes and structures, it not only helps patients make informed decisions, but helps hospitals as well. It is a way for us to benchmark progress in safety, quality and efficiency of care.”
Avatar Solutions also recognized the Presque Isle hospital for quality of patient care. Avatar measures and compares hospital safety and patient satisfaction based on patient, employee, and physician surveys. TAMC received both a Best Overall Performer Award and Exceeding Expectations Award for 2016.
The Best Overall Performer Award recognizes hospitals with the highest overall combined score for inpatient, outpatient, emergency department, and ambulatory surgery. The award honors high-performing facilities that demonstrate consistency of experiences by patient type throughout the organization. The Exceeding Patient Expectations Award goes to centers who deliver care beyond what is expected by patients in a number of areas including quality of care and reliability.
“These awards speak volumes for the great work that happens across our organization every day. It is to the credit of the entire team who strives to deliver the best, patient-centered care possible,” said Joy. “For those of us who work in healthcare, these are the honors that matter most, because they reflect the views of the people who entrust us with their lives and their health and well-being every day.”
