Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center Receives 5 Stars in independent, nationwide healthcare quality review

Today, Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center (LSCVAMC) announced it received a 5-star rating from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings and 4 stars from CMS’ quarterly patient satisfaction review, the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers & Systems (HCAHPS). These ratings maintain the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center’s superior ratings from 2023, further testament to the quality of care offered here.

VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System (VANEOHS), anchored by the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, has robust quality and safety initiatives allowing the medical center to maintain the 5-star CMS Overall Hospital Quality rating. Currently, a multidisciplinary workgroup tracks mortality data to identify outliers and opportunities for process improvement. The workgroup systematically reviews inpatient mortalities to proactively improve the safety and quality of Veteran care. Monthly Patient Safety Forums provide staff opportunities to learn and share as part of a High Reliability Organization. Patient flow initiatives such as the “Reduction in Readmissions for Ambulatory Sensitive Conditions” project and “Journey to Discharge” improve care transition between inpatient to outpatient care using evidence-based practices along with continuous measurement so Veterans choosing VANEOHS receive the right care, in the right setting, at the right time, for the right reasons. 

Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center implemented several initiatives during the rating period to ensure patient satisfaction remains high. These initiatives included reducing “Door to Doctor” time frame for patients coming to the Emergency Department, expanded telehealth, and launched a new provider rounding system that includes nurses and patients in the decision-making process, leading to measured improvements in patient outcomes and patient experience. Additional simple steps included a Red Coat Ambassador Program to assist with hospital navigation, a “Quiet at Night” program to decrease volume on nursing units without compromising patient care, and initiating a “Commit to Sit” program ensuring at least one minute of face-to-face interaction of undivided time between patient and caregiver.

“All across Northeast Ohio, our VA staff is deeply committed to the values and ideals which deliver the highest quality care to the more than 135,000 veterans who use our services,” said Jill Dietrich Mellon, Executive Director, VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System. “These collaborative efforts to advance the entire health care experience for our Veterans have made us a clear healthcare leader in this region and have strengthened collective trust in the care VA provides. We know we provide the best outcomes for the Veterans we serve.”

“It’s our commitment that every eligible Veteran not only can choose VA health care, but when they do, that they get the very best and safest care possible,” said VA Under Secretary for Health Shereef Elnahal, M.D. “For the second year in a row, VA care has been shown to be some of the best in the Nation. We are dedicated to continuously improving as we strive towards always providing the highest quality of care to Veterans.” 

Nationally, VA hospitals continue to outperform non-VA hospitals on both CMS’ Overall Star Rating and their quarterly patient satisfaction survey: 

•    Patient Satisfaction Survey: VA outperformed non-VA hospitals in the most recent CMS HCAHPS star ratings, with 79% of VA facilities receiving a summary star rating of 4-or 5-stars compared to 40% of non-VA hospitals. This represents the ninth consecutive quarter in which VA facilities have outperformed non-VA counterparts.

•    Hospital Quality Ratings: In this year’s CMS Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings, 58.4% of VA hospitals included received 4- or 5-star ratings compared to 39.5% of non-VA hospitals. This is only the second year VA hospitals have been included in this review, and VA has outperformed non-VA healthcare in both years. 

These findings come at a time when Veteran trust in VA outpatient care has reached an all-time record high of 92%, based on a survey of more than 440,000 Veterans. Additionally, these findings are consistent with a recent systematic review that found that VA health care is consistently as good as — or better than — non-VA health care. 

Both CMS ratings aim to improve patients’ ability to make informed decisions about where they receive care. CMS awards Overall Star Ratings to hospitals based on five categories: mortality, safety of care, readmission, patient experience, and timely and effective care. CMS’ HCAHPS summary star ratings combine information across ten measures of patient experience, including staff communication and responsiveness, hospital environment, willingness to recommend the hospital, and overall hospital rating. This year’s Overall Star Ratings are based on data collected between July 2019 and March 2023, and this quarter’s HCAHPS star ratings are based on data collected between October 2022 and September 2023.

VA is committed to delivering the timely, world-class health care Veterans deserve and will stop at nothing less. The overall rating, as well as ratings on specific quality and satisfaction measures, can be found via CMS’ Care Compare tool. 

For more information, please contact Damien Horvath at Damien.Horvath@va.gov or 216-339-5240, or visit www.cleveland.va.gov. 

###

ABOUT VA NORTHEAST OHIO HEALTHCARE SYSTEM: Focusing on treating the whole Veteran through health promotion and disease prevention, VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System provides comprehensive, seamless health care and social services for more than 135,000 Veterans across Northeast Ohio. With 17 locations of care, including 12 outpatient clinics, two community resource and referral centers, a psychosocial rehabilitation and recovery center, a chronic dialysis center, and an outpatient surgery center, VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System’s quality services are easily accessible to Veterans in 21 counties. VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System also contributes to the future of medicine through education, training, and research programs.

For more information about programs and services offered by VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System, visit www.cleveland.va.gov or follow us on Facebook, Instagram or X @ClevelandVAMC.

Damien Horvath, Public Affairs Officer

Phone: