CLEARWATER, Fla., Aug. 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The hospitals operated by BayCare Health System, the leading health care provider serving West Central Florida, are far more likely to provide high-quality, safer care, according to the annual Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) signature consumer ratings.

In the 2024 CMS Hospital Quality Star Ratings report: 66% percent of the nine BayCare hospitals eligible to be surveyed under the program scored a rating of 4 or 5 stars, compared to 40% of hospitals nationally. When including 3-star ratings, 88% of BayCare hospitals performed at that level, compared to 69% of hospitals nationally. The survey is drawn from publicly-reported data.

"Combined with other factors, CMS hospital star ratings not only help people decide where to receive their health care, they also help hospitals to identify where they excel and where there is opportunity to perform even better," said Laura Arline, MD, FACP, FAAP, BayCare's chief quality officer.

"We are very proud of our BayCare hospitals' performances and the efforts our talented team members, physicians and advanced practice providers make every day to ensure that we provide the highest quality and safest care possible," Dr. Arline said. 

CMS' Care Compare tool allows people to find and compare information about the quality of care at more than 4,000 Medicare-certified hospitals across the country, including more than 50 military hospitals and more than 130 Veterans Administration medical centers. 

The categories of quality used to determine the ratings are mortality, readmissions, patient experience, safety, and timely and effective care. 

The 2024 CMS Hospital Quality Star Ratings for BayCare are: 

5-star hospitals: Mease Countryside Hospital, Mease Dunedin Hospital 

4-star hospitals: Morton Plant Hospital, St. Anthony's Hospital, St. Joseph's Hospital (including St. Joseph's Hospital, St. Joseph's Hospital-North and St. Joseph's Hospital-South), South Florida Baptist Hospital 

3-star hospitals: Bartow Regional Medical Center, Morton Plant North Bay Hospital

About BayCare

BayCare is a leading not-for-profit health care system that connects individuals and families to a wide range of services at 16 hospitals and hundreds of other convenient locations throughout the Tampa Bay and central Florida regions. The system is West Central Florida's largest provider of behavioral health and pediatric services and its provider group, BayCare Medical Group, is one of the largest in the region. BayCare's diverse network of ambulatory services includes laboratories, imaging, surgical centers, BayCare Urgent Care locations, wellness centers and one of Florida's largest home care agencies, BayCare HomeCare. BayCare's mission is to improve the health of all it serves through community-owned, health care services that set the standard for high-quality, compassionate care. For more information visit BayCare.org.

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SOURCE BayCare Health System