Quality Care

Blue Distinction Centers for Cardiac Care by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield  Mercy General Hospital and Mercy San Juan Medical Center continue to be designated Blue Distinction Centers for Cardiac Care by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies. This national award recognizes hospitals with:

Mercy General Hospital and Mercy San Juan Medical Center have been designated Blue Distinction Centers for Cardiac Care since 2006.

 

Premier Award for Quality, 2008-2010  For three consecutive years, Premier Healthcare Alliance recognized Mercy General Hospital for their commitment to outstanding patient care and operational efficiency with the Premier Award for Quality (AFQ). The AFQ recognizes leading healthcare organizations that:

Chest Pain Center with PCI Accreditation; from the Society of Chest Pain Centers  The Society of Chest Pain Centers' goal is to reduce death due to heart attack through the adoption of evidence-based medicine and community education. The intent of the accreditation is to ensure facilities meet or exceed quality of care measures based on improving the process for the care of patients with chest pain and heart attack. What this means to patients is that when they visit an Accredited Chest Pain Center, they can be assured that they will be treated quickly and with the best medicine.

Mercy General and Woodland Healthcare are proud to join other leaders in heart attack care from across the nation with this distinction.

 

 

 

Heart Attack Care  Both Mercy General Hospital and Mercy San Juan Medical Center provide exceptional care for heart attack patients. Both hospitals exceed national targets set by the National Door to Balloon Alliance in improved time to perform emergency angioplasty in heart attack patients. The National Door to Balloon Alliance is a network of hospitals, physician champions and strategic partners who work together to address the challenge of lowering door to balloon times, which measures the time it takes a hospital to open the blocked artery of a heart attack patient, measured from onset of chest pain to placement of cardiac catheter balloon. Opening up blocked arteries stops heart muscle from dying.

 

The national benchmark door to balloon time is 90 minutes. Mercy, in conjunction with the local EMS providers, has special cardiac care teams in place 365 days a year to provide comprehensive care to heart attack patients, including door to balloon times well above the national benchmark.

 

National Benchmark:	< 90 minutes 75% of the time 90 minutes or less
Mercy General:	58 minutes avg. time 93% of the time 90 minutes or less
Mercy San Juan:	68 minutes avg. time 98% of the time 90 minutes or less
California State Avg.:	93% of the time 90 minutes or less
Mortality rates within 30 days of heart attack:
Mercy General:	14.1%
Mercy San Juan:	15.3%
California State Avg.:	15.6

 

CCORP for CABG Surgeries  The Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development's (OSHPD) California Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) Outcomes Reporting Program (CCORP) rates the 121 cardiac surgery facilities in California on mortality rates and other quality outcomes. Both Mercy General Hospital and Mercy San Juan Medical Center have mortality rates below California state average, meaning more patients survive their surgery and return to health.

The California Office of Statewide Health Planning agency provides data on California hospitals and surgeons. To view the data on hospital quality, click here. To view the data on surgeons, click here. To view a complete report, click here.

 

 

 

 

Society of Thoracic Surgeons' (STS) National Adult Cardiac Surgery Database Composite Quality Measure and STAR Rating System  The STS National Database was established in 1989 as an initiative for quality improvement and patient safety among cardiothoracic surgeons. Both Mercy General Hospital and Mercy San Juan Medical Center received the "3 star" rating - the highest rating possible - from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons for the quality of their cardiac surgery among hospitals across the country for 2010.

 

The Star rating system is based on four components of a hospital's performance:

Recognition from the Joint Commission  The Joint Commission is responsible for accrediting hospitals and specialty programs throughout the United States. The Joint Commission accredits more than 19,000 hospitals and programs and, in most states, the accreditation of The Joint Commission is a condition of licensure and for the receipt of Medicaid reimbursement. The mission of The Joint Commission is to continuously improve American healthcare by evaluating providers and inspiring them to provide safe and effective care of the highest quality and value.

 

The Joint Commission has awarded the Gold Seal of Approval to several Mercy Heart & Vascular Institute programs:

 

 

 

Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation Certification  Mercy General Hospital is the only hospital in Sacramento to have both Cardiac Rehab and Pulmonary Rehab programs that are certified by the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation (AACVPR).

 

Founded in 1985, AACVPR is dedicated to reducing morbidity, mortality and disability related to cardiovascular and pulmonary disease through education, prevention, rehabilitation, research and disease management. AACVPR is committed to improving quality of life for patients and their families.

 

Rehabilitation programs certified by the AACVPR have demonstrated:

Hospital Compare  The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), along with the Hospital Quality Alliance (HQA) created the Hospital Compare website, which shows rates for Process of Care and Outcomes of Care measures and by individual hospitals. Process of Care measures show how often hospitals give recommended treatments known to get the best results for patients with certain medical conditions or surgical procedures (heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia, asthma in children, and patients having surgery). Outcomes of Care show what happened after patients with those conditions were treated, specifically related to either readmission or death. These measures show whether a hospital is doing its best to prevent complications, teach patients at discharge, and ensure patients make a smooth transition to home or another care facility.

 

The Mercy hospitals participate in the US Department of Health and Human Services Quality Indicators. To see this information, click here.