Federal Report Cards On Regional Hospitals Raise Questions
The Fresno Bee and Desert Sun report on how facilities in the area ranked.
The Fresno Bee:
Federal Ratings For Valley Hospitals Range From One Star To Five
The federal government has released new hospital quality ratings, and the news is good and bad in the central San Joaquin Valley. The region has a top-rated hospital – and one of the lowest-scoring. Fresno Surgical Hospital earned a five-star score from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which rated more than 3,500 hospitals nationwide on a one-to-five-star system, with five stars the highest rating. (Anderson, 8/6)
Desert Sun:
Desert Regional Questions Low Grade On National Scorecard
New report cards from the federal government place Coachella Valley hospitals among the best and worst performers in the country. But the one to five-star assessment is drawing criticism, as hospital groups have roundly blasted the ratings as misleading and unfair to locations that serve more low-income patients or provide a wider range of services. In the valley, Eisenhower Medical Center scored high while Desert Regional Medical Center and JFK Memorial Hospital scored low. (Newkirk, 8/5)
Previous Coverage On California Healthline: Many Well-Known Hospitals Fall Short of 5 Stars In Medicare’s New Ratings (July 27)