Wesley Medical Center earns 5-star quality rating from CMS Wichita - Wesley Healthcare has earned a coveted 5-star quality rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), a distinguished ranking that only 6.4% of hospitals in the nation have earned. The rating applies to both Wesley Healthcare's Hillside and Woodlawn campuses.
Until this year, Wesley has maintained a strong four-star rating, but its dedication to patient safety and its high standards for quality have raised the bar, senior leaders said.
"Receiving a 5-star rating is an incredible achievement," said Bill Voloch, president and CEO of Wesley Healthcare. "CMS is an independent, non-profit government agency that takes a hard look at important quality measures. Its 5-star endorsement means Wesley is saving lives. Every day, Wesley is the safest place to receive care."
The Hospital Compare overall hospital rating summarizes a variety of measures across seven areas of quality into a single star rating for each hospital. Once reporting thresholds are met, a hospital's overall hospital rating is calculated using only those measures for which data is available. This may include as few as 9 or as many as 60 measures. The average is about 39 measures.
"For many years, Wesley Healthcare has invested in its clinical excellence agenda," said Sandy Schremmer, vice president of Quality & Infection Prevention. "The CMS 5-star rating is an achievement that reflects our year-over-year improvements and our ongoing commitment to improving the care we provide to the community. We will continue to work toward improvement again this year and once again have ambitious improvement goals to achieve in 2020. I am so proud of our team and work put in by all to achieve this distinction."
Hospitals report data to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services through the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR) Program and the Hospital Outpatient Quality Reporting (OQR) Program.
The star rating uses seven different statistical models to calculate quality measures. Those models include mortality rates, safety of care, readmission (how often a patient is readmitted after discharge), patient experience, effectiveness of care, timeliness of care, and efficient use of medical imaging.
"Because of the work you do as individual care providers, our quality results are some of the best in the country," said Casey Guber, chief operating officer. "It is extremely reassuring that our community and the patients we serve receive world-class care."
Only 6.41% of hospitals across the country are 5-star CMS hospitals and only 24% earn 4 stars, CMS officials said.
The overarching goal of the Overall Hospital Rating is to improve the usability and interpretability of information posted to its Hospital Compare website, which is designed for consumers to use along with their healthcare provider to make decisions on where to receive care, CMS officials said. The Overall Hospital Rating provides consumers with a simple rating generated by combining multiple dimensions of quality into a single summary score.
"Our robust Clinical Excellence strategy is set, shared and executed through partnerships with our excellent physicians and staff," said Lowell Ebersole, DO, chief medical officer. "This achievement is a testament to and a celebration of the tireless efforts of the many Wesley employees who help our patients heal and recover. We will continue to strive to provide the highest quality and safest care to our patients to our patients who entrust us with their care."
To learn more, visit medicare.gov