Last week the Federal Governmentreleased its ratingsfor nearly 5,000 hospitals across the United States, reports The Rural Blog.Hospitals are rated from one to five stars, and the news wasn’t great. Only 102 institutions hospitals, or 2.2 percent, earned five stars.
In the High Plains area, only the Quail Creek Surgical Hospital in Amarillo received the top rating. Baptist St. Anthony’s in Amarillo and Memorial Hospital in Dumas, Texas, also performed well. Both facilities received four stars. The rest of the hospitals in the HPPR listening area received three stars. Nationwide, less than a quarter of hospitals fell into the top two groups.
The rankings have upset many hospitals and other industry groups. They say the rating system oversimplifies a complex matter. Critics fear the rankings will provide inaccurate information to consumers and damage hospitals’ reputations.
