Shannon and Community Medical Centers Rated for Quality Care

Local Hospitals, Shannon Medical Center and San Angelo Community Medical Center recently received their ratings from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS).

Shannon Medical Center received a four out of five rating, and Community Medical Center received a three rating.

Bryan Horner, President and CEO of Shannon Medical Center, explained what goes into receiving the CMS rating.

He mentioned the seven categories that are analyzed, which include mortality, safety, timing, and patient experience to name a few.

“Based on the scorings in these categories, it is then compared to the national average to determine a rating,” Horner said.

He noted that only two or three percent of the hospitals in the country receive a five star rating. Twenty-three and a half percent of hospitals received four or five star ratings.

“These outcomes impact hospital payments in the future because they provide the best high quality care at the lowest cost,” Horner said. “We are pleased to get a level four, and it just means that patients can find quality health care without going to big cities like Austin or Dallas.”

For the people of San Angelo, Horner explained the medical professionals at Shannon have always wanted to provide exceptional health care for those living in city at the best rate possible.  

Shannon has added an endocrinologist who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of children with diseases of the endocrine system, and maternal-fetal medicine, which helps with health concerns of the mother and child prior to, during, and shortly after pregnancy.

Horner said with these specialties, citizens of San Angelo no longer have to travel to Abilene or other cities to get the same treatment.

“Residents of San Angelo can see these specialty physicians at home instead of driving outside of the city,” Horner stated.   

Horner said he is pleased to see that Shannon is up there in the 4,000 top hospitals across the country, and is excited to see what is in the future by pursuing a five out of five rating.  

"We work on our re-admissions and patient experience survey all the time," Horner said. "To attempt at being the best, we constantly have measured ourselves against the goals we set ahead of us."  

He mentioned that Shannon wants to invest in a new electronic medical record system, which will help with patient safety and quality of service at Shannon. 

Sheryl Pfluger, Marketing for Community Medical Center, also provide a statement regarding the CMS ratings. 

“We are committed to identifying and providing safe, quality care for every patient. Measurement helps us identify progress and opportunities to further improve,” she said in a written statement. “Our physicians, nurses and other clinicians work to continually improve care.”

Regarding the timeliness of care category for the CMS rating, Community pledges to have patients be met with medical professional in 30 minutes or less.

“We also maintain lower than the national average times for moving patients from the ER into a hospital bed, for those who must be admitted or observed,” Pfluger said. “And, for more than 7 years, when a patient comes to the ER with chest pain, we have beat the national gold standard of restoring blood flow to a blocked blood vessel under 90 minutes in 100 percent of the cases.”

In the patient experience category, Community received four stars in the overall summary rating of patients’ experience.

“We’ve implemented hourly rounding on patients to anticipate and handle the needs of patients, helping prevent patient falls and reduce anxiety,” Pfluger explained. “We’ve also empowered all staff that may enter a patient room to ask questions and alert nurses if there is a need.”

The Hospital Compare star rating is one of many national reports on the quality of care. Both medical centers use several measurement tools, including Hospital Compare, to help identify and evaluate the hospitals' progress as well as opportunity for improvement. Another important measure is accreditation status.

“SACMC is the only accredited chest pain center in the Concho Valley, accredited sleep center, accredited wound care center and only accredited hospital in the area for heart failure,” Pfluger said. "Community continually identifies, evaluates and works to provide a safe, quality care for patients.”

Other hospitals, including Abilene Regional Medical Center and Midland Memorial Hospital, received a three out of five rating from the CMS.