In the latest round of Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings released by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, St. Francis Hospital has been awarded a top 5-star rating.
 
CMS unveiled its new, expanded Star Ratings program last year, as part of a national push to increase healthcare transparency and help patients and their family members make informed decisions about their healthcare. Rankings are determined by a host of data, including mortality, safety and readmission outcomes; patient experience; effectiveness and timeliness of care; and the efficient use of medical imaging.
 
St. Francis Hospital’s Overall Hospital Quality 5-star Rating is the highest possible performance rating and puts St. Francis in the top 9 percent of all hospitals in the U.S., with respect to patient safety and the overall patient experience.
 
“We are incredibly proud of this achievement,” says Dan Jones, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of St. Francis Hospital. “We attribute our success in the program to our hospital-wide commitment to quality.”
 
St. Francis has launched a number of initiatives over the past year aimed at further enhancing the quality of care provided to patients These include:

· Enrolling in the LifePoint National Quality Program, working closely with LifePoint’s partners at Duke to enhance patient safety in meaningful and sustainable ways;

· Daily safety briefs with leadership;

· Use of daily briefs, debriefs, huddles, learning boards and executive patient safety rounds with front-line staff to drive communication and a culture of safety;

· Addition of patient representation to our Patient Safety Corps;

· Engagement of providers, front-line staff and leaders in use of high level performance improvement tools to analyze cause, evaluate best practice standards and drive change in practice;

· 56% reduction in hospital acquired harms since October 2016.

“At St. Francis, we consider it a privilege to serve the healthcare needs of our communities,” says Charlene Falgout, Chief Nursing Officer, “and we will continue to monitor our progress and explore opportunities to even further enhance patient care in an effort to provide the best possible experience for all who enter our facilities.”