Quality is A Top Priority at Skagit Regional Health

Skagit Regional Health’s goal is to be the best integrated health system in the Northwest, and we strive to provide safe, high-quality, world-class care to our patients every day. As a system committed to excellence, we are continuously working to improve quality and patient safety organization-wide.

In 2018, we added a new Chief Quality Officer to our Executive Leadership Team, Joshua Griggs, MD, MHA who is focused solely on quality. Dr. Griggs is passionate about continuous improvement and elevating the overall delivery of healthcare. Meet Dr. Griggs in this short video and learn more about our commitment to Zero Harm. 

In 2017, we streamlined our electronic health record system entirely to Epic, which is used by all top 10 ranked hospitals in the United States. Now, our clinicians have critical patient information and data-driven decision-support tools at their fingertips. Soon this will include predictive analytics that use patient data to predict when patients are at higher risk of experiencing unwanted outcomes, allowing clinicians to intervene before the condition escalates.

Since patient safety and infection prevention are two of our top goals, we’ve launched several initiatives to improve in these areas. These programs involve everyone from our Executive Leadership to housekeeping, and everyone in between.

Transparency Regarding Our Quality Measures and Performance

We believe our patients and the community should be aware of our work at Skagit Regional Health. This is why we are transparent with our quality measurements and national scorecards, and have made this information easy to find.

Included below are several resources where you can check out Skagit Regional Health’s quality performance:

• Healthgrades: Skagit Valley Hospital
• Healthgrades: Cascade Valley Hospital
• Washington State Hospital Association: Skagit Valley Hospital
• Washington State Hospital Association: Cascade Valley Hospital

Accreditations, Certifications and Memberships

• DNV-GL Healthcare: Skagit Valley Hospital and Cascade Valley Hospital are both accredited by DNV-GL Healthcare under the authority of the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Our facility will also be compliant with the ISO 9001 Quality Management System. DNV (Det Norske Veritas) is an independent foundation with the purpose of safeguarding life, property and the environment.
• The American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer: The Skagit Regional Health Cancer Care Center is accredited by The American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer. The cancer care center has been certified by the American College of Surgeons since 1975, which acknowledges the center’s quality multidisciplinary cancer care program that meets rigorous compliance standards.
• The American Hospital Association: Skagit Valley Hospital and Cascade Valley Hospital are both members of the American Hospital Association, a national organization founded in 1898 that represents and serves nearly 5,000 hospitals, plus health care networks, and their patients and communities. The American Hospital Association serves as an educational resource on health care issues and trends for leaders at Skagit Regional Health.
• The Washington State Hospital Association: The Washington State Hospital Association is a membership organization representing community hospitals and several health-related organizations. The association provides issues management and analysis, information, advocacy and other services.
• Certified Primary Stroke Center: Skagit Regional Health is a Certified Primary Stroke Center, accredited based on quality and patient safety by DNV-GL. The Primary Stroke Center designation indicates that Skagit Regional Health provides high quality treatment for a broad range of stroke conditions, is able to provide acute therapies and offers stroke-specific inpatient care for stroke patients.
• Seattle Cancer Care Alliance: Skagit Regional Health Cancer Care Center is honored to be selected as just the second network affiliate of the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, a partnership of three world-renowned cancer programs, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, UW Medicine and Seattle Children's. As a network affiliate since 2005, our patients benefit from the resources, research, clinical trials and treatment options of the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, while in treatment here at the Skagit Regional Health Cancer Care Center.