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News Release

Media Contact:

Christina Chavira
Communications Specialist
530.332.5589 office; 530.588.4411 cell
christina.chavira@enloe.org

Enloe receives a Five-Star rating for community value

CHICO, Calif., July 9, 2010 – Enloe Medical Center recently received a Community Value Five-Star award from Cleverley + Associates, an independent health care financial consulting firm in Columbus, Ohio. Enloe is one of only 35 hospitals receiving the award out of 400 hospitals in California, and one of only three hospitals north of Sacramento, along with Mercy Medical Center-Redding and Oroville Hospital. This places the three hospitals in the top 10 percent for community value in California.

Using data publicly available on 2,700 U.S. hospitals, the firm carried out a study designed to determine the value that a hospital offers its community. Receiving the Five-Star rating means a hospital scored in the top 20 percent of hospitals in this group. Value was assessed based on:

  • Financial viability,
  • Appropriate reinvestment back into the facility,
  • Maintaining a low cost structure,
  • Having reasonable charges, and
  • Providing high-quality care to patients.

Measurement in these areas suggest that hospitals operating with a high degree of community value are those that are low cost, low charge, and use a strong financial position to reinvest back into the provision of care at the facility, according to Cleverly + Associates. Each area that was assessed contains metrics that compare a hospital’s performance to an appropriate peer group. Those hospitals with scores in the top 20 percent are designated as “ Community Value Five-Star™” facilities.

“The topic of hospital value is increasingly being discussed. Issues of pricing and community benefit have been well-publicized, but little has been offered to measure the broad scope of value,” says James Cleverley, Principal for Cleverley + Associates. In response, the Community Value Index was created to provide an assessment of a hospital’s performance in four areas: financial strength and reinvestment, cost of care, pricing, and quality.

“We appreciate that a third-party recognizes the value of services we provide to the community,” says Mike Wiltermood, Chief Executive Officer at Enloe Medical Center. “We consider it a positive reflection not only of Enloe, but of the dedication of area physicians who also work hard to provide high quality at a reasonable price, inside and outside of the hospital setting,” Wiltermood said. “As Health Care Reform initiates cuts in payments to doctors and hospitals, it will be increasingly important for the entire health system to continue working together to maintain high value health services for our community.”

Data measured for the study consists of the Hospital Quality Index, which assesses a hospital’s process and outcomes of patient care; Medicare charges; the Case Mix Index, which evaluates the complexity of patients’ conditions at a hospital; Wage Index Adjusted; and average Medicare relative weight, which indicates the relative costs for treatments during the prior year; as well as a hospital’s total margin, growth and net fixed assets over two years; the hospital’s fixed asset turnover and its debt financing percentage.

About Cleverley + Associates: Cleverley + Associates is a Columbus, Ohio-based health care data and consulting services firm specializing in custom data analyses and reporting for health care providers, consultants, and vendors. The company’s primary focus is to provide health care providers with solutions and recommendations that will enhance their financial performance through better pricing decisions; improved coding, capital restructuring, cost and productivity enhancements; and/or investment management changes. For more information, call Cleverley + Associates at 888-779-5663 or visit www.cleverleyassociates.com.

Enloe Medical Center is a local, nonprofit health care organization. For more information, please call 530/332-7300 or visit us online at http://www.enloe.org.   Enloe Medical Center is located at 1531 Esplanade Chico, Calif.  95926.