LAKEPORT, Calif. — Sutter Lakeside Hospital was awarded 5-stars for overall quality, the highest designation available for hospitals from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS.

Sutter Lakeside Hospital is also the only critical access hospital in the state to receive a five-star rating this year.

Introduced in 2016 to give consumers a summary of hospital performance, the CMS overall hospital star ratings are widely considered the gold standard for measuring quality and safety.

“We are so proud to be among the fraction of organizations that rank this highly for patient safety, patient experience and outcomes,” said Tim Stephens, chief administrative officer for Sutter Lakeside Hospital. “Only about 10% of hospitals received a five-star rating this year. This achievement underscores our relentless commitment to delivering exceptional health care services for the benefit of our patients and communities. This further motivates us to continue striving for excellence in all aspects of our organization.”

In 2022, Sutter Lakeside Hospital received four stars from CMS, which is higher than the national average of three stars. The CMS star rating is based on hospital performance across five categories: mortality, safety of care, readmission, patient experience and timely and effective care.

Five stars in staff responsiveness

Patients can use hospital ratings to help decide where to receive planned care, such as a surgery or birth. Patients also have a role in influencing how well a hospital is rated.

CMS uses a standardized survey to collect experience ratings from patients after they are discharged from a hospital. The survey, known as HCAHPS, stands for Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems, and it is designed to score topics that are most relevant to patients.

Two questions on this survey focus on staff responsiveness and here again, Sutter Lakeside Hospital earned a perfect five stars. Only 16 other hospitals in the state received the same.

“We thank our remarkable team members for their excellent work and congratulate them on this achievement,” said Pauline Orr, chief nursing executive, Sutter Lakeside Hospital. “These ratings are a direct result of their dedication to quality, responsiveness to patient feedback and embodiment of Sutter’s values of integrity, compassion and excellence.”

Staff responsiveness star ratings are based on surveys completed between October 2021 and September 2022.

The overall star rating is a composite of 46 measures that reflect a hospital’s performance between April 2018 and March 2022, depending on the measure.

Additional accolades

Sutter Lakeside Hospital proudly adds the CMS five-star accolade to an already impressive list of awards and achievements earned to-date in 2023:

• Labor and delivery: In June, Sutter Lakeside Hospital was applauded for performing C-sections only when medically necessary. Sutter Lakeside Hospital has maintained a C-section rate that is at or below the state’s goal for the past seven consecutive years, earning the hospital a Quality & Sustainability Award from the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative.

• Healthcare-associated Infections: In May, Sutter Lakeside Hospital was recognized for its prudent use of antimicrobials (including antibiotics) to treat patients while still reducing microbial resistance and decreasing the spread of infections in healthcare settings. Sutter Lakeside Hospital reached silver level status on the Antimicrobial Stewardship Honor Roll, published by the California Department of Public Health.

• Patient safety: In March, Sutter Lakeside Hospital was included on the Patient Safety Honor Roll published by Cal Hospital Compare. Only 24% of California’s acute care hospitals had a high enough safety profile, which considers safety events, sepsis management and more, to make the list this year.

• Reputation: In February, Sutter Lakeside Hospital earned gold for Best Hospital and Best Emergency Care from Bicoastal Media readers in the annual Best of Lake & Mendocino 2023 survey. Sutter Lakeside Hospital’s clinics also earned silver in the Physical Therapy and Walk-In Clinic / Urgent Care categories.

• Critical care: In January it was announced that Sutter Lakeside Hospital had earned five stars from Healthgrades in the treatment of heart failure, sepsis and respiratory failure. This five-star rating places Sutter Lakeside among the top 15% of hospitals nationwide for the quality of care provided when treating these critical conditions.

Sutter Lakeside Hospital has also been named a Blue Distinction Center for maternity care from the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and a LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Leader from the Human Rights Campaign. These multi-year recognitions must be reapplied for — and earned — on a regular basis.

Exceptional emergency care

As the only trauma center and certified stroke center in Lake County, Sutter Lakeside excels in emergency medical services. CMS data revealed that 76% of patients who came to Sutter Lakeside’s emergency department with stroke symptoms received brain scan results within 45 minutes of their arrival. This is better than the state average of 72% and the national average of 69%.

“Beyond the numbers are lives that have been impacted by our team. This team serves with an unparalleled standard of excellence and a mission to enhance the well-being of each person we care for because each life matters,” said Dr. Christina Lasich, chief medical executive for Sutter Lakeside Hospital.

Sutter Lakeside Hospital is a member of the Sutter Health integrated, not-for-profit system. Founded in 1945, the hospital is located at 5176 Hill Rd E, Lakeport, California. To provide patients with greater access to physicians, Sutter Lakeside Hospital also operates two outpatient care centers: Sutter Lakeside Medical Practice (967 Parallel Drive, Suite C, Lakeport) and Sutter Lakeside Community Clinic (5196 Hill Road East, Lakeport).