Northern Arizona VA Health Care System Receives 5 Stars in independent, nationwide health care quality review

The health care system also earned 5 stars this year from CMS’ quarterly patient satisfaction review, the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers & Systems (HCAHPS) – an improvement from last year’s 4-star rating. 

This achievement puts NAVAHCS in an elite class of healthcare, as only 1.5% or 44 of the 2,847 U.S. hospitals scored in the federal analysis received the highest star rating in both categories. 

"Receiving 5 stars across the board from CMS is a testament to the dedication, compassion, and hard work of our entire staff,” said Steve Sample, NAVAHCS’s Medical Center Director. “Every day, our employees go above and beyond to ensure our Veterans receive the exceptional care they deserve. I couldn’t be prouder of this team and the remarkable impact they have on the lives of our patients. I also want to extend a heartfelt thank you to our community for their unwavering support of our facility and Veterans. Together, we continue to make a difference!"

Since the passing of the PACT Act in 2022, which was one of the largest health care and benefits expansions in VA history, there has been a tremendous influx of Veterans into the VA system nationwide. 

“As we’ve grown, we’ve remained focused on the provision of high-quality preventive and restorative care when and where it is needed,” said Dr. Megan Babcock, NAVAHCS’s Chief of Staff. “Driving these services are highly skilled doctors, nurses and other clinical support staff who have chosen to work for our health care system because of our reputation as an organization that truly cares about its employees and those we serve.”

Some of the initiatives NAVAHCS has taken in recent years to ensure its continued success include the following:

• Enhanced interdisciplinary collaboration on clinic scheduling, resulting in improved access to primary care services
• Expanded specialty support and clinical services available to women Veterans within VA facilities, reducing the dependence on community resources 
• Resourced two rural clinics on the Navajo Nation with primary care and mental health staff to dramatically increase the availability of face-to-face care for some of Northern Arizona’s most remote Veterans
• Expanded the availability of VA specialty care through the addition of key specialists on the Prescott campus and leveraging other larger VA facilities’ providers through remote platforms 
• Increased specialty care services available in its Community Based Outpatient Clinics, of which there are five 

VA hospitals outperforming non-VA hospitals

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, more than 58% of VA hospitals included received 4- or 5-star ratings compared to 40% of non-VA hospitals. This is only the second year VA hospitals have been included in this review, and VA has outperformed non-VA health care 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. 

“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.” 

About the CMS rating system

The CMS rating system aims 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.

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Media Contact: Max Efrein, Public Affairs Officer, Northern Arizona VA; (928) 910-0332; max.efrein@va.gov. 

About the Northern Arizona VA

Through its main campus in Prescott, along with Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) in Cottonwood, Flagstaff, Kingman, Lake Havasu City, and Anthem – with additional clinics in Tuba City, Page, Kayenta, Chinle, Holbrook and Polacca – the Northern Arizona VA provides services to approximately 34,000 Veterans over a catchment area of more than 65,000 square miles.