SRMC ranks in top 5 in national acute care hospitals honor roll

Sandoval Regional Medical Center, one of the larger health care locations in Rio Rancho, was ranked fifth on a national Lown Institute list June 25.

The list is a sort of “Honor Roll” that showcases 154 out of 2,784 hospitals with highest scores across measures of equity, value and outcomes. SRMC made top 10 in the Acute Care hospital category.

The Lown Institute Hospitals Index is unique in its inclusion of equity metrics, such as racial inclusivity and pay equity, alongside more traditional outcomes measures.

In response to this achievement, SRMC President Jamie Silva-Steele says she is excited and welcomes the achievement.

"The hospital received an A rating, which is awesome," she said.

SRMC ranked first in New Mexico and fifth in the nation.

"What this means is SRMC is among 5% of hospitals nationwide that received this honor roll status, particularly an 'A' rating," Silva-Steele added.

There are a few qualifying categories the hospital had to meet. The three main categories are equity, value and outcomes. SRMC got an "A" rating in all three categories.

Broken down, Lown looks at equity by gathering data for pay equity, community benefit and inclusivity. Pay equity measures the difference in compensation of hospital executives compared to health care workers without advanced degrees, community equity measures the extent of hospital investment in free care and community health, and inclusivity measures to which patients being served are demographically similar to those in the surrounding community. SRMC got "A" ratings for each subcategory in equity.

Value is determined by two factors: avoiding overuse, which measures the avoidance of inappropriate tests and procedures that offer little or no clinical benefit; and cost efficiency, which measures risk-adjusted clinical outcomes over cost per patient adjusted for local cost of living and labor costs. SRMC got "A" ratings for each subcategory in value.

Outcomes looks specifically at patient care with clinical outcomes, measuring patient mortality and readmission rates over various periods of time; patient safety, which measures the avoidance of preventable patient safety errors; and patient satisfaction, which measures aspects of the hospital experience as reported by patients. SRMC received a patient safety rating of a "C," and the patient satisfaction rating was a "B." However, the rating for the overall outcomes category was an "A.".

The ratings also look at COVID burden on the hospital, taking into account the number of beds occupied by COVID patients. The burden threshold is 10% of beds used. During 2020, the peak of the COVID pandemic, SRMC went as high as 61.2% of beds used. That peak occurred in November and didn't fall below the threshold until February 2021.

Silva-Steele, though elated by this ranking, says it is important to remember each hospital has unique patients with unique needs.

"We have unique patients. We have unique communities that we serve. So we are proud of the work we are doing. The Lomas Campus executives are just as proud of the work we are doing. It gives us all an opportunity to continue to improve, and really that's what it's about is making sure that we are here for our patients, our community and doing the best job that we can," she said.

Vikas Sani, M.D., president of the Lown Institute, says great care is only great if everyone can access it.

“Socially responsible hospitals are trusted to provide high-quality care to all, and their success directly improves the health and economic stability of their communities," Sani said.

SRMC was the only New Mexico hospital to make top 10 of the annual list this year.