West Valley Named to '100 Top Hospitals' for Sixth Consecutive Year
Caldwell, ID — For a sixth consecutive year, West Valley Medical Center has been named one of the nation's 100 Top Hospitals® by IBM Watson Health™. The study spotlights the top-performing hospitals in the U.S., based on a balanced scorecard of publicly available clinical, operational and patient satisfaction metrics and data.
According to the Watson Health 2019 study, "Top-performing hospitals in the country achieved better risk-adjusted patient outcomes while maintaining both a lower average cost per patient and higher profit margin than peer group hospitals that were part of the study."
"It is so gratifying to see this level of recognition for our physicians and staff for the sixth year in a row," Betsy Hunsicker, chief executive officer at West Valley Medical Center, said. "Our care team strives to make a real difference in the lives of every patient we serve and this award once again reflects their exceptional efforts."
The Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals® study uses independent and objective research to analyze hospital performance in 10 clinical and operational areas. When compared with peer groups nationwide, 100 Top Hospitals outperformed non-winning peers in the following key performance metrics (full study results on 100 Top Hospitals):
- Higher survival rates
- Fewer complications and infections
- Shorter length of stay
- Shorter emergency department wait times
- Lower inpatient expenses
- Higher patient satisfaction
- Higher profit overall margins
West Valley, a 150-bed facility, is listed in the Medium Community Hospitals category along with 19 other facilities across the country. The Canyon County hospital has achieved national recognition for its implementation of initiatives to improve quality and enhance patient satisfaction. Some of these initiatives include:
- An aggressive process for early identification and treatment of severe infections proven to improve outcomes.
- A commitment to patient engagement by introducing patients to their care team and sharing information at bedside during shift changes and department transfers.
- Daily safety huddles and weekly quality meetings to review day-to-day activities regarding current safety needs of patients and staff.
Based on the results of this year's study, IBM Watson Health extrapolates that if all Medicare inpatients received the same level of care as those treated in the award-winning facilities:
- More than 103,000 additional lives could be saved.
- More than 38,000 additional patients could be complication-free.
- More than $8.2 billion in inpatient costs could be saved.
- Approximately 155,000 fewer discharged patients would be readmitted within 30 days.
To conduct the 100 Top Hospitals study, IBM Watson Health researchers evaluated 3,156 short-term, acute care, non-federal U.S. hospitals. All research was based on the following public data sets: Medicare cost reports, Medicare Provider Analysis and Review (MEDPAR) data and core measures and patient satisfaction data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospital Compare website.
Hospitals do not apply for awards and winners do not pay to market this honor. This year's list of honorees was announced in the March 2019 edition of Modern Healthcare magazine. More information on this year's study, visit 100 Top Hospitals.