Report Finds Wildomar’s Inland Valley Medical Center Rates 'Average' To 'Poor' In Care

UPDATED March 29 at 10:35 a.m. with comment from Southwest Healthcare System: Wildomar-based Inland Valley Medical Center received grades ranging from “Average” to “Poor” on its latest report card from CalHospitalCompare.org.

According to the report card, the hospital rates “Average” in “Critical Care/ICU Mortality Rate,” “Average” in “Patient Safety,” “Below Average” in “Time in Hospital/Potentially Preventable Readmissions,” and “Poor” in “Overall Patient Experience.”

Click here to see the full report card.

When drilling down into the categories, Inland Valley fell below nearly all state averages. The hospital only fared at or above state averages when it came to beta-blocker therapies, wound closure, unnecessary appendectomies among the elderly, accidental lung punctures, and physical comfort of patients.

In 20 other areas, the hospital fell below state averages.

According to CalHospitalCompare.org, an “Average” grade means the hospital performed within the average range compared to other hospitals; a “Below Average” grade means the hospital performed worse than average range compared to other hospitals; a “Poor” grade means the hospital performed well below average compared to other hospitals.

Brian Connors, spokesman for Inland Valley Medical Center and its parent Southwest Healthcare System, said since the compilation of the CalHospitalCompare.org data last year, the health care provider has made "substantial improvements." He cites as examples the partnership with Rady Children’s Hospital to open the first and only neonatal intensive care unit in the area at Murrieta's Rancho Springs Medical Center and positive comments the provider receives from patients.

"Improving and maintaining the highest quality of healthcare services for our communities is our top priority," Connors said.

Inland Valley Medical Center and Rancho Springs Medical Center are both part of Southwest Healthcare System. According to the CalHospitalsCompare.org data, the Murrieta hospital was graded nearly the same as Inland Valley Regional Medical Center.

CalHospitalCompare.org is a partnership between three independent organizations: the California HealthCare Foundation; the University of California at San Francisco Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies; and the California Hospitals Assessment and Reporting Taskforce (CHART), a not-for-profit public benefit corporation.

CalHospitalCompare.org includes ratings for clinical care, patient safety, and patient experience for the more than 232 hospitals, representing over 82 percent of acute care hospital admissions in the state that have chosen to participate, according to a statement from the organization.