VA Loma Linda Receives Four Stars CMS Quality Ratings
PRESS RELEASE
July 28, 2023
Loma Linda , CA — VA Loma Linda Healthcare System officials announced that it received a four of five stars rating from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
The CMS uses 5 categories – mortality, safety of care, readmission, patient experience, and timely and effective care – to award a quality rating for each hospital. The more stars (out of 5), the better a hospital performed on the available quality measures.
“Our job at VA is to deliver the best possible care to every Veteran who walks through our doors,” said VA Under Secretary for Health Dr. Shereef Elnahal. “While we’re very proud of these findings, there is still work to do. We will study these results, learn from them, and continue to improve until we’re delivering world-class care to every Veteran, every time.”
Overall, 67% of VA hospitals included in the CMS annual Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings received either 4 or 5 stars, compared to only 41% of non-VA hospitals. These findings align with other recent evaluations of VA vs. non-VA health care. VA hospitals outperformed non-VA hospitals on all 10 core patient satisfaction metrics in the recent Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Star Ratings, and a recent systematic review of more than 40 peer-reviewed studies found that VA health care is consistently as good as — or better than — non-VA health care.
“Delivering safe, quality care is the foundation of our healthcare system, and as a learning organization we continually strive to improve how we deliver care”, said Karandeep Sraon, VA Loma Linda Healthcare System medical center director. “VA Loma Linda has a unique set of strengths and challenges, so our four-star rating should give Veterans confidence in our commitment to listening to their feedback, analyzing data, and employing best practices and innovation in providing exceptional care.
This is the first time CMS has included VA facilities in their annual Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings. For more information, please contact VA Loma Linda Public Affairs Office at vhalompublicaffairs@va.gov or 909.583.6193 or visit https://www.va.gov/loma-linda-health-care/