About Us

Quality of Care Overview

We believe it’s important for patients and families to know about the quality of care in any organization before making a decision about where to go for treatment. 

Approach

We monitor the quality of our care continuously and use this information to guide our quality improvement efforts. We set standards of care according to those recommended by respected institutions that have based their recommendations on scientific knowledge and research. In order to make this information available to you, we voluntarily participate in several state and national projects that display organizational data on their websites. Below are several websites which display information about the quality of our care and safety initiatives.

 

Patient Experience

At Northfield Hospital + Clinics, we take your feedback seriously. Our goal is to make your visit or stay with us exceptional. We want you to feel like you are a guest in our “home.” We want everything we do to meet or exceed your expectations. However, if you have a suggestion on how we can improve any aspect of our service to you, please share this feedback with us. We welcome the opportunity to make improvements and enhance our service to you, our customer.  Our goal is to provide outstanding customer service! We have partnered with NRC Health to randomly survey our patients for input on the service and care they receive.  It is important to us that you return the survey if you get one. Thank you!

 

Hospital Patient Satisfaction Scores

Hospital rating scores reflect an overall impression of both the skill and compassion of our providers and staff as they help you on your journey back to your best health.  We hope that each and every interaction shows we don’t just care for you, we care about you.
 
About this measure: 
In 2021, 82% of hospitalized patients gave Northfield Hospital a rating of 9 or 10 when asked “Using any number from 0 to 10, where 0 is the worst hospital possible and 10 is the best hospital possible, what number would you use to rate this hospital during your stay?”
In 2020, 82% of patients rated their hospital experience 9 or 10

 Scores for previous years were:

  • 2018: 85%
  • 2019: 81%
  • 2020: 82%

This is a score publicly reported nationally by Medicare. 

We set our own goal higher than most hospitals by aiming for a score that is in the top ten percent of all U.S. hospitals. 

The measurement period is January 2018 through December 2021.
Average response rate = 36%

 

Clinic Patient Satisfaction Scores

A recommendation to family and friends shows that you are pleased with the clinic providers and staff who greet you, listen to you, and come up with a plan to address your needs.  We want you to trust us to be there when you need us.
 
About this measure: 
In 2021, 90% percent of clinic patients answered “Yes, Definitely” to the survey question “Would you recommend this provider’s office to your family or friends?’
clinic patient satisfaction scores 2021

The score for 2018 was 93%, for 2019 92%, and for 2020 91%. 

This is a score publicly reported statewide by the Minnesota Department of Health on the Minnesota Health Scores website.  For more information go to http://www.mnhealthscores.org(link is extern

We set our goal higher than most clinics by aiming for a score that is in the top 10 percent of MN clinics.

The measurement period is January 2018 through December 2021.
Average response rate = 34%

 

Hospital Readmission

Rates of readmission show whether a hospital is doing its best to prevent complications, provide clear discharge instructions to patients, and help patients make a smooth transition to their home or a nursing home.

Readmissions disrupt a patient’s recovery, and our goal is to help prevent them.  We want patients to  successfully recover without the need to come back  to the hospital for more treatment.

About this measure:
From July, 2017 through December, 2019, more than the expected number of heart failure patients, and patients who have COPD were readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of being discharged from Northfield Hospital.  For patients with pneumonia and for those who had total hip or knee arthroplasty, fewer than expected patients were readmitted.

This is a score publicly reported nationally by Medicare based on patients who are discharged from the hospital and unexpectedly return within the next 30 days to be treated; sometimes for a new problem, sometimes for a complication of their disease.

What we are doing to reduce readmissions:

  1. Teaching patients about their diagnosis, how to manage at home, and when to call the doctor before things get worse.
  2. Giving patients with a new diagnosis of heart failure a bathroom scale to monitor their weight every day
  3. If recommended by the care team, setting patients up with home health care service or our community paramedic service when needed

For more information, go to https://www.medicare.gov/hospitalcompare(link is exter

The measurement period is July 2017 through December 2019

 

Hospital Spending

Healthcare is expensive, and many patients are paying higher premiums and a higher percentage of their hospital bills for services not covered by their insurance or by Medicare.  As a result, financial hardship from medical expenses is a growing concern nationwide.
 
About this measure: 
Each year, from 2018 through 2021, Northfield Hospital provided services to its Medicare patients at a rate that is less than the national median “spending per beneficiary amount”.
 
This is a score publicly reported nationally by Medicare which, when viewed with quality scores, shows whether hospitals offer value for your healthcare dollars.
 
Hospitals with scores below the line AND with good quality scores reflect that they are effectively managing their patients’ health and have good outcomes while avoiding unnecessary charges.

Medicare Hospital Patient Experience Star Rating

About this measure: 
For October 2020 through September, 2021, Northfield Hospital has received a 4-star rating for Patient Experience, a measure publicly reported nationally by Medicare.

four stars out of 5 highlighted

Annually, Medicare requires all hospitals to ensure they receive a minimum of 300 returned surveys from patients who have stayed in the hospital.  The hospital patient experience star rating is then calculated from those  survey scores.  It includes ratings of: 

  • Nurse and doctor communication
  • Cleanliness
  • Quietness
  • Staff responsiveness
  • Explanations about medicines
  • Whether patients would recommend the hospital to their family and friends

The overall rating ranges from one to five stars. 

For more information, go to https://www.medicare.gov/hospitalcompare

More stars are better than fewer stars. The measurement period is October 2020 through September 2021.

 

Medicare Hospital Overall (Quality) Star Rating

About this measure: 
For July 2016 through March 2020, Northfield Hospital has received a 4-star rating for Overall Quality, a rating publicly reported nationally by Medicare.

The overall rating summarizes up to 57 quality measures of common conditions that hospitals treat, such as heart attack or pneumonia.

The overall rating ranges from one to five stars.

More stars are better than fewer stars. The measurement period is July 2016 through March 2020.