TORRINGTON – Community Hospital in Torrington ranks higher than national and state facilities in several areas, and received a three-star rating overall from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Hospitals report data to CMS – a federal agency that runs the Medicare program. The Hospital Compare overall hospital rating includes up to 57 measures in the overall rating calculation, according to its website, medicare.gov.

The Overall Hospital Rating ranges from one to five stars and provides consumers with a simple overall rating generated by combining multiple dimensions of quality into a single summary score.

“Our team of highly skilled caregivers and medical staff are committed to delivering quality care to the community,” said Zach Miller, Community Hospital Chief Operating Officer. “We are grateful to serve our friends and neighbors. As the COO, I am pleased to see the team’s efforts reflected in our most recent star rating. Many areas are above the national average, including patients’ willingness to recommend the facility.

“One of our Banner core values is ‘relentless improvement.’ We will not stop improving until we have achieved our mission of making health care easier, so life can be better. Ingrid Long, our Chief Nursing Officer, and Dr. Norma Cantu, Chief of Staff, and the entire team here at community hospital live this mantra daily.”

Average results include:

 Patients who reported their nurses “Always” communicated well: Community Hospital, 86 percent; Wyoming, 81 percent; national, 80 percent.

 Patients who reported their doctors “Always” communicated well: Community Hospital, 83 percent; Wyoming, 81 percent; national, 81 percent.

 Patients who reported they “Always” received help as soon as they wanted: Community Hospital, 83 percent; Wyoming, 76 percent; national, 70 percent.

 Patients who reported staff “Always” explained about medicines before giving it to them: Community Hospital, 65 percent; Wyoming, 70 percent; national, 66 percent.

 Patients who reported their room and bathroom were “Always” clean: Community Hospital, 76 percent; Wyoming, 79 percent; national, 75 percent.

 Patients who reported the area around their room was “Always” quiet at night: Community Hospital, 58 percent; Wyoming, 62 percent; national, 62 percent.

 Patients who reported they were given information about what to do during their recovery at home: Community Hospital, 87 percent, same as Wyoming and national averages.

 Patients who “Strongly Agree” they understood their care when they left the hospital: Community Hospital, 63 percent; Wyoming, 58 percent; national, 53 percent.

 Patients who gave their hospital a rating of 9 or 10 on a score from 0 (lowest) to 10 (highest): Community Hospital, 79 percent; Wyoming, 71 percent; national, 73 percent.

 Patients who reported yes, they would definitely recommend the hospital: Community Hospital, 79 percent; Wyoming, 71 percent; national, 72 percent.

In addition, in the category “Timely & effective care,” the percentage of patients who left the emergency department before being seen at Community Hospital is 1 percent, equivalent to the Wyoming state average at 1 percent, and better than the national average at 2 percent.

Among other low-volume (less than 20,000 patients annually) emergency departments, Community Hospital is more efficient than state and national median, with 150 minutes being the average time patients spent in the emergency department, before they were admitted to the hospital as an inpatient. Statewide, patients wait 180 minutes, and nationally, 210 minutes.

The average time patients spent in the emergency department, after the doctor decided to admit them as an inpatient before leaving the emergency department for their inpatient room, at Community Hospital is 24 minutes, vs. an average 38-minute wait in Wyoming, and 56-minute wait nationally.

Ninety-eight percent of patients at Community Hospital in Torrington were assessed and given the influenza vaccination; 90 percent in Wyoming; and 93 percent in the U.S.

Community Hospital in Torrington reported zero percent of mothers whose deliveries were scheduled too early (one to two weeks early), when a scheduled delivery was not medically necessary. Wyoming and the national average is 2 percent.

Death rates at Community Hospital are designated as “no different than the national rate” for the following conditions: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (with national rate of 8.3 percent); heart failure (11.7 percent); and pneumonia (15.7 percent). Similarly, unplanned readmissions following discharge from hospital are no different locally than the national rate of 15.3 percent.

Outpatients who had a follow-up mammogram, breast ultrasound, or breast MRI within the 45 days after a screening mammogram (a follow-up rate near 0 percent may indicate missed cancer; a rate higher than 14 percent may mean there is unnecessary follow-up): Community Hospital: 7.6 percent; Wyoming average: 9.4 percent; national average: 8.9 percent.

Outpatient CT scans of the abdomen that were “combination” (double) scans (if a number is high, it may mean too many patients have a double scan when a single scan is all they need): Community Hospital: 3.1 percent; Wyoming: 9 percent; U.S.: 7.8 percent.

Outpatient CT scans of the chest that were “combination” (double) scans: Community Hospital: 1.5 percent; Wyoming: 5.3 percent; national: 1.5 percent.

Hospital Compare is part of the CMS Hospital Quality Initiative. The Hospital Quality Initiative uses a variety of tools to help hospitals improve the quality of care they deliver. The aim is to help improve hospitals’ quality of care through easy-to-understand data on hospital performance, and quality information from patient perspectives.

For more information, visit medicare.gov.