Parkview earns four stars for quality care

Parkview Medical Center has been recognized by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as being one of the top hospitals for overall quality of care in the country.

On Tuesday, CMS released its first ever star ratings and Parkview Medical Center scored a four-star rating, surpassing the national average of three stars.

“The rating reflects our ongoing effort to get better,” said Parkview CEO Michael Baxter. “While our four-star rating is good, our goal continues to be to work toward being a five-star hospital.”

The ratings put Parkview in good company.

Just 20 percent of hospitals nationwide, 934 facilities in total, received a four-star rating and only 2 percent of hospitals received the highest rating at five stars.

In Colorado, Parkview joins 21 other hospitals earning four stars. Just one Colorado hospital earned a five-star rating.

The ratings are based on a comprehensive examination of 64 measures of quality and safety, including readmissions, effectiveness and timeliness of care, imaging efficiency and others.

The Star Rating was developed by CMS though a public and transparent process. The ratings serve to measure the quality of care that runs the gamut from routine care a patient receives during heart attacks to infection control.

For more information go to www.medicare.gov/hospitalcompare/search.html