SEATTLE — The Washington State Hospital Association has recognized Forks Community Hospital and Jefferson Healthcare under its Critical Access Hospital Achievement of Quality Excellence program.
The awards were announced at the association’s 2024 Rural Hospital Leadership Conference in Chelan.
The critical access hospitals submitted data on up to 14 quality improvement measures, including sepsis, workplace violence, diagnostic excellence and health disparities.
Hospitals had to achieve an average score of five out of 10 across all eligible measures to gain recognition.
Other hospitals recognized include Arbor Health in Morton; Columbia Basin Hospital in Ephrata; Lourdes Medical Center in Pasco; Newport Hospital and Health Services in Newport; North Valley Hospital in Tonasket; Ocean Beach Hospital and Medical Clinics in Ilwaco; Providence Mount Carmel Hospital in Colville; Providence St. Joseph’s Hospital in Chewelah; St. Elizabeth Hospital in Enumclaw; Summit Pacific Medical Center in Elma; and Willapa Harbor Hospital in South Bend.
Olympic Medical Center, the level III trauma center in Port Angeles, has 67 inpatient beds and does not meet the association’s definition of a critical access hospital.
This is the second year the association has honored critical access hospitals for tracking performance.
“The Critical Access Hospital Achievement of Quality Excellence program showcases our smallest and most rural hospitals’ commitment to providing care in their communities,” said Darcy Jaffe, the association’s senior vice president of safety and quality. “Their dedication to improvement exemplifies the spirit of safety and quality in patient care.”
The association defines critical access as hospitals with 25 or fewer beds, located more than 35 miles from another hospital, maintain an average length of stay of 96 hours or less for acute care patients and provide emergency care services 24 hours per day, seven days per week.
For more information, visit www.wsha.org.
