Stanford Health Care – ValleyCare announced today that it has achieved a five-star, top rating from Hospital Compare at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and performed above the national average in the readmission, safety of care, and patient experience measure groups. The five-star distinction was achieved by only 407 hospitals nationwide, placing SHC-ValleyCare in the top 9th percentile nationwide.

"This is an important accomplishment and a testament to the environment and culture we have created that values the best care, safety, and patient experience—our entire team contributed to our success," said Rick Shumway, Stanford Health Care – ValleyCare President and CEO.

Hospital Compare, created by CMS, gathers data and information on hospitals nationwide and assigns star ratings from one to five based on the hospital's performance across seven quality areas: mortality, safety of care, readmission, patient experience, effectiveness of care, timeliness of care, and efficient use of medical imaging. The information is displayed on its website to patients and caregivers to encourage hospitals to improve the quality of their care.

Stanford Health Care – ValleyCare achieved solid performance—above the national average—across all patient experience categories based on data from the most recent survey. The survey asked recently discharged patients to answer questions about the hospital experience covering how well doctors and nurses communicated, how responsive hospital staff were to patient needs, and the cleanliness and quietness of the hospital environment.

In the readmissions area, Stanford Health Care – ValleyCare performed extremely well on the 30-day, all-cause readmission for total hip and knee replacement and in the hospital-wide, all-cause unplanned readmission. In safety of care, Stanford Health Care – ValleyCare again performed well for lowest risk of complications following elective total hip and total knee arthroplasty.

"We have a number of performance improvement activities underway. We are focused on achieving the safest and best care for joint replacements, infection control, hand hygiene and other cleaning protocols for a safe environment. We have had engagement throughout the organization, reinforcing the Stanford Health Care mission of 'healing humanity,'" explained Dr. David Svec, MBA, and Chief Medical Officer at Stanford Health Care – ValleyCare.

About Stanford Health Care - ValleyCare

In 2015, ValleyCare and Stanford Health Care partnered to become Stanford Health Care – ValleyCare. Through highly skilled physicians, nurses and staff, and state-of-the art technology, Stanford Health Care - ValleyCare offers a wide range of health care services at its Livermore, Pleasanton, and Dublin medical facilities.

About Hospital Compare

Hospital Compare was created through the efforts of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in collaboration with organizations representing consumers, hospitals, doctors, employers, accrediting organizations, and other federal agencies.

For more information on Hospital Compare, please visit: https://www.medicare.gov/hospitalcompare/search.html.