Kootenai Health is pleased to announce it has achieved a Five-Star Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). CMS recently released their updated ratings, making Kootenai Health the only hospital to earn a Five-Star Overall Rating in the Inland Northwest.
“This award provides recognition of Kootenai Health’s medical staff and employees’ dedication to quality and compassionate care,” said Jon Ness, CEO of Kootenai Health. “It is an achievement the entire region can celebrate.”
“A Five-Star Overall Rating is something every hospital in the country works toward, and few receive,” said Karen Cabell, D.O., and Chief Physician Executive of Kootenai Health. “To earn this rating further proves Kootenai Health is the premier health care destination we know it to be.”
Only 13 percent of all hospitals in the nation received a Five-Star Overall Rating. A designation earned by both Kootenai Health and St. Mary’s Health in Cottonwood, which is part of the Kootenai Health system.
The Overall Rating, between one and five stars, summarizes a variety of measures across five areas of quality. Those five areas include mortality, safety, readmission, patient experience and timely and effective care.
“This achievement validates that our on-going quality improvement work is showing results,” said Helen Holmes, Executive Director of Quality and Risk for Kootenai Health. “I’m so happy for our staff to see this, they work tirelessly every day to provide the best possible care for our community.”
CMS developed the program to help consumers make informed decisions about their health care by giving them a way to compare hospitals based on quality ratings. The ratings are typically released on a quarterly basis to provide transparency for patients so they can make informed choices.
“We work relentlessly to continually improve our care and our patients’ experiences and will continue to do so,” said Holmes, “That’s our culture; it’s who we are.”
