St. Joseph Health, Redwood Memorial and St. Joseph Hospitals Make Cal Hospital Compare’s 2019 Honor Rolls

Eureka, Calif. (January 20, 2020) –Cal Hospital Compare, in partnership with the California Health & Human Services Agency, recently honored St. Joseph Health, Humboldt County hospitals on its honor rolls for patient safety and maternity care.

“Providing the highest quality of care to our patients is our top priority,” said Roberta Luskin-Hawk MD, chief executive at St. Joseph Health, Humboldt County. “We are honored to accept these recognitions on behalf of the physicians, midwives, nurses, pharmacists and other caregivers who have worked together to achieve clinical excellence. We not only have the benefit of local expertise, we also collaborate with experts across Providence St. Joseph Health who help support us in achieving the highest standards of care.”

The hospitals were recognized for the following:

• Redwood Memorial Hospital was one of 77 acute care hospitals recognized by the 2019 Patient Safety Honor Roll. Hospitals were evaluated across a variety of domains including hospital acquired infections, sepsis management, and more. Identifying high performing hospitals was an 18-month process of evaluating existing national patient safety scoring systems and adapting them for the available measures and unique features of California hospitals.
• Redwood Memorial Hospital and St. Joseph Hospital were recognized on the 2019 Maternity Care Honor Roll. In 2015, the California Health and Human Services Agency began recognizing hospitals for meeting the 23.9% statewide target for C-sections. The overuse of cesarean sections (C-sections) can result in higher rates of complications like hemorrhage, transfusions, infection, and blood clots. For babies, it can mean higher rates of infection, respiratory complications, neonatal intensive care unit stays, and lower breastfeeding rates.

Redwood Memorial Hospital’s C-Section rate is well below the target at 17.9%; St. Joseph Hospital’s rate is also lower than the target at 21.6%. Redwood Memorial Hospital has been recognized by Cal Hospital Compare for meeting or exceeding the target C-Section rate for three consecutive years; St. Joseph Hospital has been recognized the past two years.