Salinas Valley Health Achieves 5-Star CMS Rating

Media Contact: Karina Rusk
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September 26, 2024 – Salinas Valley Health has garnered the highest level of national quality recognition with an announcement of a 5-star rating from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the best possible rating for hospital quality and safety.

The prestigious ranking places Salinas Valley Health among an elite group of hospitals nationwide, with only 381 out of more than 4,600 hospitals earning the distinction. CMS reports hundreds of hospitals fell off the eligibility list this year to even be considered for a star rating.  The 5-star recognition achieved by Salinas Valley Health puts the public district Medical Center in the top 8.2% of hospitals nationwide.

“Our entire team deserves recognition for obtaining this impressive quality achievement,” says Allen Radner, MD, President/CEO of Salinas Valley Health. “It takes consistency, teamwork and an intense commitment to deliver evidence-based practices to meet this elevated standard of care. At Salinas Valley Health, 5-star CMS quality is accessible to everyone in our community, and benefits all of our patients.”

The CMS rating system evaluates hospitals across five performance areas: mortality, safety of care, readmission rate, patient experience, and timeliness and effectiveness of care. The 2024 Overall Star Rating selects 46 publicly available hospital quality measures to evaluate hospitals and findings are reported to consumers on Hospital Compare.

“With my long career and experience in healthcare, I am constantly impressed by the level of quality delivered at Salinas Valley Health,” says Catherine Carson, BSN, MPA, CPHQ, Board of Directors and Chair of the Quality and Efficiency Practices Committee. “I’m proud to be a publicly elected board member, actively engaging with our professional staff to achieve a level of quality equivalent to much larger academic institutions in the Bay Area.” 

“The CMS star ratings are based solely on publicly available data and consider safety, efficiency, and patient experience, areas where we continually strive to excel,” says Aniko Kukla, DNP, RN, Salinas Valley Health Director of Quality and Patient Safety. “No hospital can apply for or pay to receive this 5-star recognition, making it the gold standard when evaluating the quality of hospital care.” 

In addition to the CMS 5-star rating, Salinas Valley Health has earned ten consecutive ‘A’ grades in Hospital Safety from the Leapfrog Group, a leading national non-profit watchdog group, underscoring Salinas Valley Health’s position as a leader in delivering superior patient care and achieving outstanding medical outcomes.