Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1051457
8 UCW NOVEMBER 14-20, 2018 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM e Department of Veterans Affairs has released the newest performance ratings for each of its 146 hospitals. e department cited improvements in the past year at some of its lowest- performing facilities. e fiscal 2018 ratings include nine one-star hospi- tals, the lowest possible, down from 14 hospitals that received one-star ratings in 2017. Fayetteville's VA received a two-star rating, which the agency describes as trivial. A star ranking system was used to designate a facility's performance in individual measures, domains and overall quality. Ratings indicate each hospital's quality of care and are based on data such as death rates, patient satisfaction and efficiency. In years past, VA withheld the data from the public. In 2016, the perfor- mance ratings were released under pressure that followed a USA Today investigation. Overall, 38 hospitals improved their star ratings in 2018, 40 dropped in the ratings and 68 stayed the same as the year before. Five VA hospitals received one- star ratings in 2017 and showed no improvement this year: Big Springs and El Paso, Texas; Loma Linda, California; Memphis, Tennessee; and Phoenix, Arizona. Four other hospi- tals were added to the worst-rated this year: Montgomery, Alabama; Tuc- son, Arizona; Washington, D.C., and Atlanta. Georgia. Eighteen hospitals received five stars in 2018, the best possible. Four of them are in Pennsylvania. e Asheville, North Carolina, VA was one of the five- star facilities. "With closer monitoring and increased medical center leader- ship and support, we have seen solid improvements at most of our facili- ties," VA Secretary Robert Wilkie said in a statement. "ere's no doubt that there's still plenty of work to do, but I'm proud of our employees, who work tirelessly to move VA in the right direc- tion for veterans and taxpayers." A VA Inspector General's Compre- hensive Healthcare Inspection of the Fayetteville VA released in March of this year indicated that current leadership has been stable with the most recent assignment of the associate director in February 2017. In the review of selected employee and patient survey results regarding facility senior leadership, opportunities to improve both patient experiences and employee attitudes toward leadership were noted. e report found that the leaders should continue to take actions to improve performance of the Quality of Care and Efficiency metrics likely contributing to the current two-star rating. In the review of key care pro- cesses, the inspector general issued 10 recommendations attributable to VA Medical Center Interim Director Mark E. Shelhorse, the chief of staff, and as- sociate director. Of six areas of clinical operations reviewed, office of the inspector general noted findings in five needing improvement: quality, safety and value; medication management; coordina- tion of care; environment of care; and post-traumatic stress disorder care. e report noted a generally safe and clean environment of care at the facility. e Veterans Integrated Service Net- work Director and Shelhorse agreed with the Comprehensive Healthcare Inspection Program review findings and recommendations and provided acceptable improvement plans. Fayetteville VA shows little improvement by JEFF THOMPSON NEWS JEFF THOMPSON, Re- porter. COMMENTS? Editor@ upandcomingweekly.com. 910-484-6200. Fayetteville's VA received a two-star rating, which the agency describes as trivial. www.facebook.com/judgebaggett/ WWW.JUDGEBAGGETT.COM Paid f or b y the Committee to E lect Talmag e Bagg ett f or Distr ict Cour t Judg e JUD GE Tal BAG GET T WORDS from the BENCH Cumberland County District Court THANK YOU Citizens for allowing me to serve three terms as your District Court Judge in the 12th Judicial District. My years in the Cumberland County Courthouse have been a source of pride and a privilege. My sincere gratitude to all the voters who did support me in this race.