Fort Harrison VA Medical Hospital Recognized with Additional Five-Star Rating by Becker’s Hospital Review
Montana VA Health Care System received additional recognition this week by Becker’s Hospital Review for the outstanding, high-quality care it provides to Montana Veterans.
Becker’s Healthcare Hospital Review gave the Fort Harrison VA Medical Center a five-star rating for Patient Recommended Hospitals. Becker’s Healthcare gave the Fort Harrison VA Medical Center a five-star Patient Recommended Hospital rating based on patients recommending this hospital to their friends and family. Fort Harrison was one of eight Montana hospitals to receive a five-star rating for patient recommended hospitals.
This is not the first five-star Becker’s rating for the Fort Harrison VA Medical Center in 2023. Earlier this year, Fort Harrison received five-star recognition for physician communication with Veteran patients (announced July 17), and a second five-star rating on staff responsiveness (announced July 28).
Becker’s Healthcare compiles a list of the best hospitals for patient experience across the country using the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) scores from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
“This five-star rating from Montana’s Veterans is one of the greatest acknowledgements we could receive. This is our Veteran community saying they would recommend our care to those who are closest to them – their friends and family,” said Montana VA’s Chief of Staff, Dr. Greg Normandin. “Montana VA has one focus every day – Montana Veterans. It is our duty to ensure Veterans receive the highest quality health care we can provide. Knowing that this care means so much to them that they would recommend us to their friends and family, may be the greatest compliment we could receive. “
The CMS along with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) developed the HCAHPS survey to provide a standardized way to collect data about a patient’s perspectives on their hospital care. The survey is administered to random patients in the medical, surgical or maternity service lines after discharge continuously throughout the year. Patients are questioned in 10 different areas of patient experiences including nurse communication, responsiveness of hospital staff, communication about medications, cleanliness of hospital and their willingness to recommend that hospital to others.
Montana VA serves over 47,000 enrolled Veterans across Montana—an area roughly 147,000 square miles in size. Veterans are cared for by 1,500 staff at 18 sites of care across the state. One third of Montana VA employees are Veterans.
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