A Submission from the Niagara Health System
(Niagara At Large is posting the following news, as submitted, for our readers’ information from the Niagara Health System, the body responsible for managing most of the hospital services in Niagara, Ontario.)
Thursday, December 13, 2012 – Today the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) will release its annual Hospital Standardized Mortality Data.
We are pleased to announce that Niagara Health System continues steady improvement year-over-year in reducing the number of preventable deaths in hospital.
The following chart details the organization’s performance on this important measure since 2007.
“Our organization-wide culture of quality, and continuous improvement in patient safety is clearly working,” said Interim President and CEO Dr. Sue Matthews. “Our staff, physicians, and volunteers are deeply committed to making our hospitals the safest in Canada, and we are taking large steps in the right direction.”
CIHI Changing HSMR Baseline
This year is also significant as CIHI has adjusted the HSMR Baseline. As CIHI explains, hospitals across Canada have increased their focus on patient safety, and as a result the previous baseline did not reflect the national average for hospital mortality. As of February 2012, HSMR results are calculated with an updated baseline using 2009–2010 data. Most hospitals were below 100 using the previous baseline (calculated from 2004-2005 data). With the updated baseline, about 50% of hospitals are below 100 and about 50% are above 100.
Here is how the new Baseline affects reporting of Niagara Health System’s performance (the blue row indicates the new baseline year):
Calculating HSMR
Hospital Standardized Mortality Ratio (HSMR) tracks changes in hospital mortality rates to reduce mortality in hospitals, and improve quality of care. The reported number indicates the ratio of actual to expected deaths in acute care hospitals.
HSMR is calculated by dividing Observed deaths [actual acute inpatient deaths] by Expected deaths [expected number of deaths based on mortality in the base year], and multiplying that figure by 100.
This information has been publicly released by CIHI every year since 2007.
For more information, please consult the CIHI website: www.cihi.ca .
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Niagara At Large 
Sending the people home to die…or Aging At Home as the NHS and LHIN like to call it, seems to be working as far as the mortality statistics go.
Too bad we don’t know the whole story.
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Define “preventable”.
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Since this disfunctional group was founded by the Harris Regime it has had the support of the Corporate media and could according to them do nothing wrong. Well!! We. who have witnessed their Empire Building, From Leon, to Sevenpifer and Souter we have seen the Southern Tier of Niagara ignored as if not mattering, neglected by almost complete lack of consultation(by invitation only), Lied to and the worst scenario dis-enfranchised when hospitals were closed and the equipment stolen in the night.
SO HOW THE HELL DO THEY THINK WE WOULD REACT TO THIS SELF CONGRATULATORY Bu…Sh… THEY ARE CONTINUALLY GETTING “INK” FOR USUALLY IN THE STANDARD, THE STANDARD or the TRIBUNE.
In many cases in the past it was a cover up to hide their incompetence and lack of concern for the task that was the original mandate The Health and Care of “ALL” peoples in the Niagara Region NOT just Bradley’s St Catharine’s Riding.
Beware of Olive Branches they might hide thorns
When “ALL” the peoples of Niagara Region are included in this Health Net I, and many others, then and ONLY then Will Believe
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