Brooklyn Hospitals Receive 1-2 Stars From Centers For Medicare And Medicaid
Update [10/28/15]: A previous version of this article misstated the Summary Star Ratings of Coney Island Hospital, Interfaith Medical Center, and Maimonides Medical Center, based on information from Healthcare Finance News. Since its posting, the ratings on that site have been adjusted — and we have adjusted our article to reflect the correct ratings.
On a scale of one to five stars, Brooklyn’s 13 hospitals all came in at one or two stars, with one three-star, according to the latest Hospital Compare results for 2014 from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Of those that serve Fort Greene, Clinton Hill and Bed-Stuy, one-star rankings proliferated for Brooklyn Hospital and Kings County Hospital. Local two-star rankings went to Interfaith Medical Center and Woodhull Medical Center.
The data came from patient surveys issued — via the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems — throughout 2014 asking them, post-treatment, to rate the quality of their experience. However, with hundreds or even thousands of surveys handed out, the percentage of surveys completed were on the lower end. So, for Brooklyn Hospital, 434 surveys yielded a 13 percent response rate.
As Healthcare Finance News noted, “poor scores can result lower reimbursement rates from Medicare under the government’s value-based purchasing program.”
Other one-starred hospitals included Wyckoff Medical Center, Brookdale Hospital Medical Center, and Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center.
Two-starred hospitals were New York Methodist Hospital, Lutheran Medical Center (the hospital had not yet been merged with NYU, so it wasn’t yet known as NYU-Lutheran), and Downstate University Hospital.
New York Community Hospital received three stars.
Overall, hospital star ratings have see-sawed since CMS data began being released earlier this year in April and July, although the most recent data is “in line with a national downward trend.”
Brooklyn Hospital Center did not respond to requests for comment as of press time.
How would you describe your quality of care received at local hospitals?