CHARTing a Course to Quality Health Care

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Aug. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Ten hospitals affiliated with the not-for-profit Sutter Health network earned the July 2010 "Certificate of Excellence" from the California Hospital Assessment and Reporting Task Force (CHART). The honor recognizes exceptional performance in health care quality in 50 categories. Only 40 hospitals across California received the award – and Sutter Health facilities comprise 25 percent of those honored.

Recognized Sutter Health hospitals include:

• Eden Medical Center (Castro Valley)
• Memorial Medical Center (Modesto)
• Mills-Peninsula Health Services (Burlingame)
• Novato Community Hospital (Novato)
• Sutter Amador Hospital (Amador)
• Sutter Auburn Faith Hospital (Auburn)
• Sutter Davis Hospital (Davis)
• Sutter Lakeside Hospital (Lakeport)
• Sutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa (Santa Rosa)
• Sutter Roseville Medical Center (Roseville)

Twice a year, CHART, a third-party consumer-reporting agency, presents the "Certificate of Excellence" to hospitals that achieve "above average" or "superior scores" in five of the eight CHART measurement areas; receive no "below average" or "poor" score on any measure; and report data for all measurements for which they qualify. These measures include patient satisfaction and experience among common reasons for admissions such as cardiac care, maternity services and treatment for pneumonia. Participating hospitals voluntarily submit data, and more than 200 California hospitals take part. The not-for-profit Sutter Health network has participated in the CHART process since its inception in 2004.

For complete performance information on the hospitals participating in CHART, see www.CalHospitalCompare.org. Published by the California HealthCare Foundation, the online report card helps consumers easily search for quality information about hospitals by location, name or medical condition.

Sutter Health's Coordinated Approach to Care Improves Quality

Nationally-recognized academic research – not to mention federal health reform – underscores the importance of delivering health services in a model that brings together doctors and hospitals who share responsibility for taking care of patients. Sutter Health has long subscribed to this model. Sutter's coordinated delivery network empowers physicians to provide comprehensive and personalized care over a broad continuum of care settings – including physicians, outpatient care, general and specialty hospital care, and home health and hospice services.

As a result of Sutter's integrated approach, the network has raised the bar even higher on health care quality care.

• Sutter Health was ranked as California's leading health system based on quality and patient satisfaction by the respected Lewin Group, a national health policy research and management consulting firm.
• Five Sutter Health-affiliated and aligned physician groups are rated among the highest performing in the state by the Integrated Healthcare Association.  
• Sutter hospitals perform far above the U.S. average and in the top 10 percent nationally on 24 quality indicators measured by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
• An independent 2006 study by the respected Dartmouth Medical School Center for the Evaluative Clinical Sciences found that doctors and hospitals in Sutter Health's Sacramento Sierra Region are among those providing the nation's most efficient and consistent quality care. The study declared this Sutter region's level of care a national benchmark – along with that of the Mayo Clinic.

QUOTES

"This is an exciting time in health care because with health care reform we have the unique opportunity to transform the way care is delivered," said Pat Fry, president and CEO of Sutter Health. "Building upon Sutter's coordinated network, which cares for patients across a comprehensive continuum, our system's doctors, hospitals and other providers can deliver consistent, high-quality and affordable health care – where, when and how patients want it."

LINKS

View CHART's report card | www.CalHospitalCompare.org

See how Sutter Health is improving quality and safety for patients | sutterhealth.org/quality

Learn how Sutter Health measures up in quality | sutterhealth.org/quality/report/

Hear our patients talk about Sutter Health's quality | sutterhealth.org/stories

About Sutter Health

Serving patients and their families in more than 100 Northern California cities and towns, Sutter Health doctors, not-for-profit hospitals and other health care service providers share resources and expertise to advance health care quality and access. The Sutter Medical Network includes many of California's top-performing, highest quality physician organizations as measured annually by the Integrated Healthcare Association. Sutter-affiliated hospitals are regional leaders in cardiac care, women's and children's services, cancer care, orthopedics and advanced patient safety technology.

For more information about the not-for-profit Sutter Health network, please visit

SutterHealth.org/about/ | www.Facebook.com/SutterHealth | www.YouTube.com/SutterHealth

SOURCE Sutter Health