MultiCare Valley Hospital receives perfect rating for patient care from federal government

MultiCare Valley Hospital has been awarded the highest possible rating by the federal government for patient care and health care quality.

“It’s a really big achievement,” said Greg Repetti, president of MultiCare Valley. “You work really hard not to achieve the award, but to serve patients.”

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services releases annual ratings on a five-star scale based upon patient feedback and data submitted by roughly 4,500 hospitals nationwide related to payments and patient care. MultiCare Valley was among the 293 hospitals nationwide that received a perfect five-star rating, and the only one in Eastern Washington.

Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Kootenai Health received four-star ratings. MultiCare Deaconness and Providence Holy Family Hospital received three stars. The Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center and Shriners Hospitals for Children are not ranked.

The government began assigning five-star ratings to hospitals in 2014 in an effort to make complicated statistical analyses of performance more accessible to the public, according to a report CMS released in December 2017. Repetti said it’s the first time Valley Hospital, which marks 50 years in operation this year, has received the five-star ranking.

“It may have a positive impact down the road on our ability to recruit people,” Repetti said. “It’s sort of like Mark Few recruiting for the basketball team.”

The 123-bed, acute-care hospital opened in February 1969. Last year, Valley Hospital became the first hospital in the state to receive advanced certification for knee and hip replacements by the Joint Commission, which provides certification and accreditation for more than 21,000 health care providers nationwide.