Federal agency gives University Hospital one star

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services gave University Hospital just one out of five stars in its latest hospital ratings.

The new rating could cost the health care system $800,000, or 1 percent of MU’s total Medicare payments, according to MU Health Care officials.

The ratings, which came out on Thursday, said MU Health Care was below the national average in “safety of care,” one of seven categories the agency measures in coming up with its rating.

MU Health Care CEO Jonathan Curtright pushed back against the rating. CMS, he said, began including more patients transferred to University Hospital from other hospitals to measure certain hospital acquired conditions.

“These ratings do not fully reflect the progress MU Health Care has made in a number of key areas critical to patient care, including marked improvements — according to CMS data from 2017 through 2018 — in patient experience, effectiveness of care and timeliness of care,” MU Health Care said in a statement.

MU Health Care has put together “expert teams” to analyze and address patient care and safety.

MU Health Care was the only mid-Missouri hospital to receive a one-star rating. Columbia’s other major hospital, Boone Hospital, received a five-star rating from the CMS. Other mid-Missouri facilities include:

SSM St. Mary’s – Jefferson City: 4 stars Capital Region Medical Center: 3 stars Moberly Regional Medical Center: 3 stars Bothwell Regional Hospital: 3 stars SSM Health St. Mary’s – Audrain: 3 stars Cooper County Community Hospital: 3 stars University Hospital: 1 star Fulton Medical Center: Not available