Lakes Regional Healthcare was recently rated as a five star hospital for the second year in a row by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) web site. CMS’ Care Compare program reports on quality measures for more than 4,000 hospitals nationwide. Roughly ten percent of hospitals in the country were rated five stars, and Lakes Regional Healthcare was the only hospital in northwest Iowa and southwest Minnesota to receive a five star rating.
The overall star rating for hospitals summarizes quality information on important topics, such as readmissions and deaths after heart attacks or pneumonia. The overall rating, between one and five stars, summarizes a variety of measures across seven areas of quality into a single star rating for each hospital The seven categories include mortality, safety of care, readmission, patient experience, effectiveness of care, timeliness of care, and efficient use of medical imaging. The more stars, the better a hospital performed on the available quality measures.
“Lakes Regional Healthcare has been a regional leader for the past several years with respect to our outstanding care team, advanced technologies, and our quality and satisfaction,” said Jason Harrington, Lakes Regional Healthcare President and CEO. “We work collaboratively throughout the entire organization, including working closely with physicians, to ensure patients receive the right care at the right time. We keep a close eye on what the national quality standards are and what we can do to meet and exceed them. I’m very proud of our performance, and our five star rating speaks to the quality of our physicians, staff, and support of our Board in demanding transparency and a commitment to quality.”
Those interested in viewing the full results can visit www.medicare.gov/care-compare/.