Redwood Memorial Hospital (RMH) in Fortuna was recognized by Partnership HealthPlan of California (PHC) recently for achieving excellence in their Hospital Quality Improvement Program (QIP). PHC, California’s Medi-Cal benefits administrator, established the program in 2012 as a means to financially incentivize hospitals to meet performance targets in the areas of quality and operational efficiency. Redwood Memorial Hospital was recognized for their success in the areas of readmission rates and timely submission of electronic inpatient treatment authorizations. Redwood Memorial Hospital exceeded the Quality Improvement Goals in each area to achieve 100% of the incentive points. The reporting period was for 2016 – 2017.
For Critical Access Hospitals (CAH) like Redwood Memorial, financial incentives earned through quality improvement programs like the one offered by PHC, enable the hospital to better serve its rural population whose residents primary form of insurance is Medi-Cal. In order for a hospital to be deemed Critical Access, they must have no more than 25 beds, typically be located more than 35 miles from another hospital, maintain an annual average length of stay of 96 hours or less for acute care patients, and provide 24/7 emergency care services.
“This important recognition from Partnership HealthPlan is another example of the incredible work being done at Redwood Memorial Hospital to provide high-quality patient care for the residents of the Eel River Valley,” said Roberta Luskin-Hawk, MD, Chief Executive, St. Joseph Health, Humboldt County.
The Hospital QIP uses a set of comprehensive and clinically meaningful quality metrics to evaluate hospital performance across selected domains proven to have a strong impact on patient care. The measures and performance targets are developed in collaboration with providers and are aligned with nationally reported measures and data from trusted healthcare quality organizations, such as the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) among others.
“These are very high standards that have to be met,” stated Tammy Logan, Area Director, Clinical Excellence, St. Joseph Health, Humboldt County. “For Redwood Memorial to achieve this level of distinction, it speaks to our commitment in developing a very robust quality improvement program.”
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