The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Wednesday handed out top marks to recognize hospitals nationwide, and among the hundreds of facilities highlighted was Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, which received a four-star rating by the federal agency.
Four stars were also awarded to Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center, Torrance; Providence Mission Hospital, Mission Viejo; and Providence St. Jude Medical Center, Fullerton. Nationwide, 803 hospitals earned four stars, 17.3% of those rated.
“The CMS star rating system is the gold standard for measuring quality and safety,” said Teresa Frey, chief quality officer for Providence in California. “Providence is committed to advancing both by sharing expertise across our system, and having many of our hospitals earn 4 and 5 stars is evidence this practice is improving care for our patients.”
Two Providence hospitals in Southern California – Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills and Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica – earned five-star ratings from the agency.
The two Providence hospitals are among 483 (10.4%) of U.S. hospitals that received this year’s top designation for quality and safe care.
The star ratings are a key source of information for consumers to choose quality hospitals in their communities. The agency cautions consumers that ratings alone are not the only criteria in deciding where to get care. Physician guidance, other quality assessments and results of patient experience surveys also should be considered.
The overall star rating for hospitals addresses readmissions to hospitals and deaths after heart attacks or pneumonia. The ratings, from one to five stars, summarize a variety of quality measures across five areas: mortality, safety of care, readmission, patient experience and timely and effective care.
“From our housekeeping and food services staff to our doctors and nurses, the constant focus is on the quality care and safety we provide to each and every patient, every day,” said Dr. Bernie Klein, chief executive of Providence Holy Cross. “I’m both honored and extremely grateful to work among people who truly care about the people whom we serve.”
All six of the four- and five-star Providence hospitals have received numerous accolades over the past year. In U.S. News & World Report 2022 quality ratings, Providence Holy Cross and Providence Saint John’s tied for No. 9 in the Los Angeles Metro Area and No. 17 in California.
Additionally, Providence Holy Cross was named among Healthgrades America’s Top 50 Hospitals 2020-23, earned Healthgrades Patient Safety Excellence Award 2022-23 and was among the nation’s top 170 hospitals for cardiac intervention. In 2022, U.S. News ranked it No. 35 for orthopedics and No. 36 for obstetrics/gynecology nationally.
Providence Saint John’s earned a spot on Newsweek’s World’s Best Hospitals the past two years and Healthgrades’ 2023 America’s 50 Best Hospitals for surgical care and America’s 100 Best Hospitals for joint replacement. It also was named among U.S. News & World Report’s best maternity hospitals.
First published in the July 29 print issue of the Burbank Leader.
