Delta Health Named Top 20 Rural Community Hospitals Nationally
Delta Health has been named as one of the top 20 rural community hospitals in the nation in 2016 by the National Rural Health Association (NRHA), in a recent announcement.
“Delta Health is delighted to receive this national recognition as a rural community hospital serving high quality medical care to Delta County families. It is gratifying to receive an award and recognition on behalf of our hard working and committed medical staff and hospital employees,” CEO Jason Cleckler said.
NRHA determined the top rural community hospitals based on a hospital strength index compiled by iVantage Health Analytics and nine pillars of excellence. Rural community hospitals with the highest ranking of aggregate scores from the nine pillars were identified as one of the top 20 community hospitals in the nation. The pillars of excellence included: 1) inpatient market share; 2) outpatient market share; 3) population risk; 4) cost; 5) risk; 6) quality; 7) outcomes; 8) patient outcomes; and 9) financial stability.
“With our 100 year history of serving Delta County patients, this honor comes at a perfect time to encourage us during the challenging years of health care reform for all rural health care facilities,” commented hospital administrator Clecker. (Or one of hospital board members such as David Lane, president of the Delta Health board).
The purpose of the source document study was to use publicly available data to provide a comprehensive comparison of the all Perspective Payment System (explain?) hospitals across a continuum of financial, value-based and market driven performance indicators. The Hospital Strength INDEX™ model aggregates data for 70 indicators organized into nine performance categories. It focuses on a set of CMS (Medicare) value based indicators, augmented by market/competition and financial indicators. It is the first rating system to incorporate market position, competitive intensity and growing healthcare demand, according to sources at iVantage.
It is also the first rating system modeled on research-based financial ratios most determinant of long-term financial sustainability. This study is unique because it is founded on the belief that a strong hospital/system has the following characteristics in the new health care:
· Low levels of population-related risk
· Dominant market position related to inpatient and outpatient services
· Outstanding quality and safety programs
· Loyal, satisfied patients
· Cost efficient and appropriately priced services
· Strong balance sheet with surplus capital
The Hospital Strength INDEX is designed to provide a comprehensive, objective and straightforward method for comparing hospital performance. The scoring model aggregates hospital-specific data for 71 individual metrics and calculates percentile rankings based on performance in comparison to all hospitals in the study group. Nine primary pillar scores are derived based on the composite scores of their respective components. Aggregate scores across the nine pillars serve as the basis for a single overall rating. The INDEX’s complete methodology is available for download at <B><L=https://www.iVantageINDEX.com target=_new>www.iVantageINDEX.com</l></b>
The various ratings within INDEX are based on publicly available data sources including Medicare Cost Reports, Medicare claims data, Hospital Compare reporting, indicators from the Agency for Healthcare Research &
Quality, Federal SEC EDGAR filings, as well as other proprietary data and methodologies. In this updated study, iVantage modified the Hospital Strength INDEX to include the most recently available data sets and applied a set of refinements and market share measures to the methodology based on market feedback and access to new data sets required under the new healthcare.
The other hospital in Colorado named by NHRA that was among the top 20 rural community hospitals was Yampa Valley Medical Center in Steamboat Springs. (See attached list of all 20 hospitals in the nation)
NRHA is a national non-profit membership organization headquartered in Leawood, KS with more than 20,000 members across the nation. The association’s mission is to provide leadership on rural health issues. NRHA
membership consists of a diverse collection of individuals and organizations, all of who share the common bond of an interest in rural health.
