20 critical access hospital in the U.S. photo courtesy of Valley Health
The National Rural Health Association picked two West Virginia hospitals from a list of top 100 critical access hospitals to be named among the Top 20 Critical Access Hospitals in the nation.
War Memorial Hospital in Berkeley Springs and Hampshire Memorial Hospital in Romney made that Top 20 list, which was released in late May.
“The determining factors for the top 20 CAHs are based on the results of the Chartis Rural Hospital Performance INDEX and its eight indices of performance: inpatient market share, outpatient market share, quality, outcomes, patient perspective, cost, charge, and finance,” said officials with the National Rural Health Association in announcing the award.
Valley Health Systems of Winchester, Va. operates both War Memorial and Hampshire Memorial.
War Memorial Hospital is located at 1 Healthy Way in Berkeley Springs off Fairview Drive.
The two regional rural hospitals share their place on the list with hospitals in Nebraska, South Dakota, Montana, Iowa, Utah, New York, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Arkansas, Kansas and Wyoming.
“Each year, the Chartis Center for Rural Health completes a nationwide assessment of the more than 1,300 CAHs in the country using its Chartis Rural Hospital Performance INDEXTM that looks at publicly available data in eight indices, including quality, outcomes, patient satisfaction and cost,” said Valley Health officials in announcing their standing.
“Chartis uses the results to create its list of Top 100 CAHs in the country, on which all four of Valley Health’s Critical Access Hospitals landed this year (both Hampshire and War in West Virginia, and Shenandoah Memorial and Page Memorial hospitals in Virginia). The National Rural Health Association then takes that elite list to determine and recognize the country’s top 20 CAHs,” said Valley Health officials.
Heather Sigel, Vice President of Operations for both War Memorial and Hampshire Memorial, said the top 20 placement is an affirmation of the great work done by hospital employees.
“It’s a huge accomplishment,” Sigel said. “Honestly the reason we are so successful is because of our people. A lot of our employees live in our communities. They have a stake in the game. They want to provide the best care for their neighbors. For them, it’s a sense of pride and a sense of ownership.”
War Memorial Hospital employs 170 people, and Hampshire has 180 employees. Of those staff, 90% are clinical employees in nursing, radiology, respirator, outpatient services, patient education, leaders and laboratory employees. Another 10% of the staff are non-clinical, working in patient registration, housekeeping, dietary services, facilities and engineering, security and administration.
Sigel said the outcomes for patients are closely tied to employee quality.
“We invest in our employees. And when you invest in your employees, you get great things back,” Sigel said.
Some of the patient quality outcomes that get measured by the hospital and outside agencies include mortality rates, falls in the hospital, hospital-acquired infections, surgical-site infections and readmission rates.
Staff at both War Memorial and Hampshire focus on preventing falls and infections, taking proactive steps aimed at cleanliness, assistance for patients with a fall risk and setting frequent team meetings to review any hazards or incidents to prevent future occurrences.
Sigel said Valley Health is considered a “high reliable” organization, meaning they look at measures of performance regularly and take action to guide positive outcomes.
“You make sure what you want to happen, happens,” said Sigel.
The top 20 designation for War Memorial and Hampshire is a great source of pride for the two facilities and Valley Health, said system officials.
“It’s a lot of celebrating for our two hospitals, for our health system,” said Sigel.
“That sets the bar pretty high and lets the public know they’re getting top-tier care at our hospitals,” she said.
Sigel said in addition to inpatient and outpatient services, specialty medical care and lab testing, War Memorial and Hampshire have 24/7 emergency rooms.
“We save lives every day. If we weren’t here, mortality rates would go up,” Sigel said.
Both hospitals also have long-term care wings. War Memorial’s has 16 beds and Hampshire’s has 30.
Sigel and Valley Health officials pointed out that the hospitals and associated medical offices provide the full range of primary and specialty care for each community. Patients can access those service through a primary care physician referral or directly themselves.
Sigel said the top 20 critical access designation was hard-earned and an exciting announcement.
“We’re so honored and we’re so proud to be honored this way,” she said.
