THE FOLLOWING IS A VA ILLIANA HEALTH CARE RELEASE
DANVILLE, Ill. – VA Illiana Health Care System is proud to announce that the health care system was recently awarded a 5-star rating from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the highest-possible star rating awarded. This is the first time CMS has included VA facilities in their annual Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings.
The attainment of this 5-star rating means Veterans in west-central Indiana and central Illinois have access to top quality and comprehensive physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual care that much exceeds national quality averages. Taken alongside VA Illiana’s fiscal year 2023 to-date trust metric of 91.3%, the attainment of this rating demonstrates VA Illiana’s commitment to clinical excellence and Veteran experience are having a real-world impact for Veterans.
“VA Illiana’s 5-star rating is a testament to the dedication of our staff,” said VA Illiana Executive Director Staci Williams. “I truly could not be prouder of the care provided at this health care system as we rise to meet the high bar set by those who came before us. We look forward to working every day to ensure every Veteran we serve has an experience that reflects this rating.”
The CMS uses 5 categories – mortality, safety of care, readmission, patient experience, and timely and effective care – to award a quality rating for each hospital. The more stars (out of 5), the better a hospital performed on the available quality measures.
Overall, 67% of VA hospitals included in the CMS annual Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings received either 4 or 5 stars, compared to only 41% of non-VA hospitals. These findings are the latest in a series of recent evaluations showing the effectiveness of VA health care compared to non-VA health care. VA hospitals outperformed non-VA hospitals on all 10 core patient satisfaction metrics in the recent Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Star Ratings, and a recent systematic review of more than 40 peer-reviewed studies found that VA health care is consistently as good as — or better than — non-VA health care.
Discussing VA’s inclusion in CMS star ratings, top VA leadership expressed pride while reaffirming a commitment to continuous improvement for all Veterans across the nation.
“Our job at VA is to deliver the best possible care to every Veteran who walks through our doors,” said VA Under Secretary for Health Dr. Shereef Elnahal. “While we’re very proud of these findings, there is still work to do. We will study these results, learn from them, and continue to improve until we’re delivering world-class care to every Veteran, every time.”
For more information, please contact Zackary Landers, VA Illiana Public Affairs Specialist, at zackary.landers@va.gov or 217-504-4035, or visit VA Illiana’s website.
About VA Illiana Health Care System
VA Illiana Health Care System provides services at 6 locations serving a 34-county area of central Illinois and west-central Indiana. Locations include the Danville VA Medical Center and 5 community-based outpatient clinics in Bloomington, Decatur, Mattoon, Peoria, and Springfield, Illinois. The VA Illiana Healthcare System is one of the leading health care systems serving Veterans in the VA Great Lakes Network. We’re an innovative care center within the Veterans Integrated Service Network 12 (VISN 12). VISN 12 includes medical centers and clinics in Wisconsin, Illinois, northwestern Indiana, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
