QUALITY MEASURES AND OUTCOMES

Quality Measures
Infection Rates at Skagit Valley Hospital
National Patient Safety Goals
Accreditations and Memberships
Online Comment Card
 

Quality Measures

Skagit Valley Hospital is committed to providing safe, quality patient care and embraces transparency in public reporting of quality measurements and national scorecards to promote education and awareness among consumers. This commitment matches Skagit Valley Hospital’s vision to make “Skagit Valley Hospital the best regional community hospital in the Northwest, dedicated to understanding and exceeding our patients’ expectations.”

Skagit Valley Hospital is at the forefront of transparency by voluntarily providing quality and pricing data to initiatives including the Washington State Hospital Association’s Quality Measures Web site, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Hospital Compare Web site and participation in the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s 100,000 Lives and 5 Million Lives campaigns.

Learn more about Skagit Valley Hospital’s quality performance at these state and national Web sites:

• Washington State Hospital Association Hospital Quality Measures
• DNV Healthcare
• Hospital Compare
  

Infection Rates at Skagit Valley Hospital

Skagit Valley Hospital's number one service standard is SAFETY. Infection prevention is one of the top goals under that standard. Washington residents can now compare and research infection rates for hospitals by going to a new Web site dedicated to Healthcare Associated Infections, sponsored by the state Department of Health.

Reporting of infection rates in hospitals is controversial because of variation in monitoring and methods of collecting the data.  

If you choose to compare our rates with others please understand that a true comparison requires standardized definitions. Infections may occur after the patient goes home. Current good practice dictates review of discharge codes looking for patients with infections acquired while in hospital and, also, soliciting information from surgeons’ offices about infections that might have shown up after discharge.

Hospitals that dedicate a great deal of time and resources to collecting data may report higher rates than those who do not.

In 2008 our overall surgical site infection rate was 1.3%. In 2009, the rate was .04%.  This would mean that a person having surgery would have less than 1 percent chance of getting a surgical site infection. The national data, most currently reported for 2004, suggests a 5% chance of getting a surgical site infection.

The following tables illustrate our 2009 Device-Associated Infection rates and 2009 Surgical Site Infection rates. National rates are based on inpatient data from approximately 300 hospitals reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through the National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance (NNIS) system and are not required to be posted.  Skagit Valley Hospital is dedicated to patient safety.  We hope that by posting our infection rates, it will show the communities we serve that we are committed to patient safety and reducing infection rates.

The rates below are calculated on the basis of 100 procedures and the number of people who have had that procedure and become infected. Thus with a rate of 1% it would still mean that one person out of 100 may become infected after undergoing that procedure.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest that clean hands prevent infections and hand hygiene practices are key prevention tools in healthcare settings. As a testament to our commitment to excellence in hand hygiene practices, Skagit Valley Hospital was presented with the “Best Hand on Care” award from the Washington State Hospital Association’s Hand Hygiene Program in 2008 and 2009 for exemplary rates of hand hygiene using an evidence-based system of comparing soap and sanitizer usage to the number of patients in the hospital.

MRSA or Methcillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus is a cause for concern in communities and hospitals. Skagit Valley Hospital has been in the forefront of prevention efforts since 2000. We expend much effort to prevent our patients from developing MRSA in the hospital.  A major challenge is that more patients are acquiring MRSA in the community and then enter the hospital already carrying this very resistant and opportunistic bacteria. Recently we have begun screening at risk patients for MRSA when they are admitted to Skagit Valley Hospital.  We are pleased to report that rates of obtaining MRSA at Skagit Valley Hospital are below the national average.
 
 

Patient Safety Goals

Skagit Valley Hospital is accredited by DNV Healthcare and participates in National Patient Safety Goals established by the organization. Learn more at the DNV Healthcare site.

Accreditations and Memberships

DNV Healthcare
Skagit Valley Hospital is accredited by DNV Healthcare under the authority of the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Our facility will also be compliant with the ISO 9001 Quality Management System. DNV (Det Norske Veritas) is an independent foundation with the purpose of safeguarding life, property, and the environment.

The American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer
Skagit Valley Hospital is accredited by The American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer. The hospital has been certified by the American College of Surgeons since 1975, which acknowledges the hospital’s quality, multidisciplinary cancer care program that meets rigorous compliance standards.

The American Hospital Association
Skagit Valley Hospital is a member of the American Hospital Association, a national organization founded in 1898 that represents and serves nearly 5,000 hospitals, plus health care networks, and their patients and communities. The American Hospital Association serves as an educational resource on health care issues and trends for leaders at Skagit Valley Hospital.
 

The Washington State Hospital Association
The Washington State Hospital Association is a membership organization representing community hospitals and several health-related organizations. The association provides issues management and analysis, information, advocacy and other services.

Seattle Cancer Care Alliance
Skagit Valley Hospital’s Regional Cancer Care Center is honored to be selected as just the second network affiliate of the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, a partnership of three world-renowned cancer programs, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, UW Washington Medicine and Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center. As a network affiliate since 2005, our patients benefit from the resources, research, clinical trials and treatment options of the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, while in treatment here at the Skagit Valley Hospital Regional Cancer Care Center.

We want your feedback
Use our online comment card to tell us about your experience with our staff and our services at Skagit Valley Hospital or any of out clinics.