Bonanza Valley Voice -

Glacial Ridge Hospital in Glenwood has maintained a five-star rating for patient experience from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Hospital Compare Initiative. The report released October 19, 2016 puts Glacial Ridge Hospital in the top 5% in the nation for the second time this year.

Star Ratings make it easier for consumers to use the information on the Compare Websites and spotlight excellence in healthcare quality. Data is gathered from the 32 question survey that is sent to patients following discharge. The Hospital Compare rankings are comprised of 11 measures that include communication with nurses and doctors, pain management, discharge information, cleanliness of the hospital, overall hospital rating and likelihood to recommend.

Glacial Ridge Health System’s CEO Kirk Stensrud commends the staff for the 5 star achievement. Stensrud states, “That doesn’t just happen by accident. It is because our managers, medical staff and our employees are taking good care of our patients.” He added, “Despite our tremendous growth in the past ten years, our priority is still each patient’s experience and quality of care.”

GRHS now has 20 members on its medical staff, up from 7 just ten years ago and has grown from about 180 employees in 2007 to 283 employees today. Stensrud also stated that the patient volume, one of the things driving recent expansion at the facility, has grown from about 19,000 in 2007 to 30,000 today. Outpatient volume also increased in that time period from 11,500 to 17,300.

Although the population of Pope County has remained flat in the time period, Stensrud attributed the growth at GRHS to “more people from our area are trusting us and now using our services.”

To compare your hospitals rankings, visit medicare.gov/hospitalcompare.