County hospital to receive 2-star rating

(Clarification: The email referenced in this article was received from a third party and verified by the Green River Star.)

Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County has dropped to a two-star Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services rating in 2021 according to an internal email from CEO Irene Richardson.

The email obtained by the Star was sent March 17 from Richardson to Kerry Downs, the medical staff services director, informing her the rating will drop two stars when CMS publishes its 2021 ratings, which are based off of data collected during 2019.

Further questions about the rating and how the hospital plans to address the issues brought up by CMS were not answered as of press time. Deb Sutton, the hospital’s marketing director and public relations officer, said the hospital will issue a press release answering those questions when CMS releases its new ratings.

In particular, six areas were identified as having major impacts on the hospital’s rating. The patient experience at MHSC, specifically regarding communications with doctors and nurses, as well as the cleanliness and quietness of the hospital environment was listed in Richardson’s email. The hospital’s pneumonia 30-day mortality rate, use of contrast material in abdominal CT scans and polyp surveillance during endoscopy were listed, as well as instances of severe sepsis and septic shock and clostridium difficile infections.

Clostridium difficile is a bacteria that often infects older people who are in a hospital or care facility, generally after use of antibiotic medications. According to the Mayo Clinic, the bacteria can be found throughout the environment in the air, water and soil, as well as processed meats and feces.

Spores are passed through an infected person’s feces and can spread to food, surfaces and objects if their hands are not properly washed and can persist for several months. In a hospital or care center environment, people have a higher chance of infection because weakened immune systems and use of antibiotics, give the bacteria a chance to spread after initial infection.

Richardson is committed to the hospital earning back its four-star rating.

“We have one year to turn this around and move back to a 4 Star Rating,” Richardson wrote. “If we decreased by two stars in one year, I think we should be able to improve by two stars in one year.”

According to the email, one meeting has already taken place amongst the hospital’s leadership team, with a second general medical staff meeting scheduled for April 6 to discuss the rating and how the hospital needs to improve. Richardson wrote that attendance is strongly encouraged and the meeting will be hosted digitally through Zoom to give employees a chance to attend.

Richardson’s email states the hospital’s board of directors are also behind a push to return to that four-star level.

“They are proud of all of our accomplishments and they know we have intelligent, dedicated, skilled leaders, physicians and staff and they know we can do this,” she wrote.

CMS created the five-star rating system to measure a patient’s experience with a healthcare provider. In a 2019 press release announcing the hospital four-star rating, Richardson said improving the hospital’s star rating was part of the hospital’s 2018-2021 strategic plan, which she said focused on patient quality and care.

The rating is based on information gathered from more than 4,000 hospitals measuring 57 items across several categories.

The hospital originally earned the four-star rating in 2019 and kept it in 2020. The ratings for the hospital were based on 2017 data in 2019 and 2018 data in 2020.