December 4, 2015 (Mt. Carmel, Illinois) – The Hospital Compare star ratings relate to patients’ experience of care. The ratings are based on data from the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers Systems Survey (HCAHPS) measures that are included in Hospital Compare. HCAHPS has been in use since 2006 to measure patients’ perspectives of hospital care, and includes topics like: how well nurses and doctors communicated with patients, how responsive hospital staff were to patient needs, how clean and quiet hospital environments were, and how well patients were prepared for post-hospital settings.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updated its Hospital Compare database with new patient experience survey results, and the number of hospitals receiving a five-star HCAHPS summary rating is down significantly since the last update in July.
When the first ratings were announced in April, 251 hospitals earned the highest available ratings of five stars. When the information was updated in July that number shot up to 336. Now, just 207 hospitals out of 3,539 across the United States earned a five-star HCAHPS summary star rating. As we have seen in recent survey results, it is common for hospitals to move in and out of different star ratings based on its survey results during that time period. Wabash General Hospital has continued to remain a five star rated hospital over all three quarters.
Out of the 207 five-star hospitals, only 12 hospitals in Illinois received this rating and only 9 in Indiana. WGH is one of three hospitals within a 100 mile radius of Mount Carmel to receive this rating, and one of two critical access hospitals within a 100 mile radius to receive this rating.
For more information and to see other area hospitals’ rankings, you can visit www.medicare.gov
