A Message From Dr. Tom Utecht,
Chief Medical Officer

At Community Medical Centers, our goal is to take exceptional care of our patients. Your safety and well-being is our number one priority. We are always looking for ways to improve and eliminate any preventable risks to our patients. That’s why we’ve built a culture of teamwork and accountability to constantly improve our systems and processes to reduce risk to patients, research and develop best practices, and create the most positive patient experience.

I believe the first step of improving quality and safety is transparency with our patients, our employees, and our affiliated physicians. In early 2018, the California Hospital Association, in partnership with the Hospital Quality Institute, launched the Advancing Transparency in Hospital Quality Data project. We’re proud to join this statewide initiative to improve transparency between hospitals and the communities they serve.

We know you have choices for your healthcare provider. And we want you to feel confident that when you choose the Valley’s largest and most complete healthcare network, you’ll receive excellent care — for you and your entire family.

Measure Definitions

CLABSI — Central Line Associated Blood Stream Infection: A serious infection that occurs when germs enter the bloodstream through a central line. A central line is a special intravenous catheter (IV) that allows access to a major vein close to the heart and can stay in place for weeks or months. The value shown above is a Standardized Infection Ratio (SIR), which is the ratio of observed-to-expected infections during the measure period. SIRs below 1.00 indicate that the observed number of infections during the measure period was lower than would be expected under normal conditions, whereas values above 1.00 indicate that the observed number of infections was higher than expected. Limitation: In the calculation of the Standardized Infection Ratio (SIR), the CDC adjusts for differences between hospitals. However, patient risk factors are not taken into account. These patient-specific variables (e.g., poor skin integrity, immunosuppression) can increase the risk of developing a central line infection. Hence, the SIR for hospitals that care for more medically complex or immunosuppressed patients may not be adequately adjusted to account for those patient-specific risk factors.
 
Colon SSI — Colon Surgical Site Infection: An infection (usually bacteria) that occurs after a person has colorectal surgery that occurs at the body site where the surgery took place. While some involve only the skin, others are more serious and can involve tissues under the skin, organs, or implanted material. The value shown above is a Standardized Infection Ratio (SIR), which is the ratio of observed-to-expected infections during the measure period. SIRs below 1.00 indicate that the observed number of infections during the measure period was lower than would be expected under normal conditions, whereas values above 1.00 indicate that the observed number of infections was higher than expected. Limitation: Some, but not all patient-specific risk factors are included in the adjustment of the SIR for these types of infections. However, not all relevant risk factors are included (e.g., trauma, emergency procedures). Hence, the SIRs for hospitals performing more complex procedures or with larger volumes of trauma or emergency procedures may not be adequately adjusted to account for those patient-specific risk factors.
 
NTSV — Nulliparous, Term, Singleton, Vertex Cesarean Birth Rate: The percentage of cesarean (surgical) births among first-time mothers who are at least 37 weeks pregnant with one baby in a head down position (not breech or transverse). Lower values indicate that fewer cesareans were performed in the hospital among primarily low risk, first-time mothers. Limitation: NTSV rates do not take into account certain obstetric conditions, such as placenta previa, that may make Cesarean delivery the safer route for both mother and infant.
 
Sepsis Mortality: Percent of patients, with a severe infection, who die in the hospital. Most sepsis cases (over 90%) start outside the hospital. Lower percentage of death indicates better survival. Limitation: Use of discharge/administrative data is limiting since such data has lower specificity for diagnoses than clinical data. In addition, without risk adjustment for differences in patient-specific factors, comparing rates among hospitals is difficult.
 
30-day Readmission — Hospital-wide All-Cause 30-day Unplanned Readmission Rate: The percentage of patients who were unexpectedly readmitted within 30 days of discharge from the hospital for any reason. Lower values indicate that fewer cases were unexpectedly readmitted after discharge. Limitations: Some, but not all patient-specific risk factors are included in the adjustment of the readmission rate. However, not all relevant risk factors are included (e.g., trauma, emergency procedures).    

Maternity Safety Program: A maternity safety program provides a coordinated approach and emergency response to risks associated with pregnancy and childbirth.
 
Sepsis Protocol: A sepsis protocol provides guidance for a coordinated approach to identification and treatment of an infection and inflammatory response which is present throughout the body.
 
Respiratory Monitoring Program: Respiratory monitoring provides guidance for assessment of risk of respiratory depression, and includes continuous monitoring of breathing and functioning of the lungs and circulatory systems when indicated.
 

Contact Us

Should any patient safety or quality of care concern arise, we encourage you to speak with any member of our management team. Our customer service representatives can direct you to the appropriate responsible person who will work with you to resolve the issue.

• Clovis Community (559) 324-4000
• Community Regional (559) 459–6000
• Fresno Heart & Surgical (559) 433-8000

If your concerns cannot be resolved through this process, you may also contact The Joint Commission’s Office of Quality Monitoring to register your complaint.

The Joint Commission Complaint Hotline is 1-800-994-6610. The Joint Commission Complaint email address is complaint@jointcommission.org. For more information, visit www.jointcommission.org.