These words are not mine they belong to James Sherlock, a retired Navy Captain who has spent years studying health care. These words are part of the subject line of a letter written by Mr. Sherlock to Virginia Governor Ralph Northam. The letter stated the hospitals serving Danville and Martinsville, Virginia have been found by the Centers for Medicare/Medicaid Services to be “extraordinarily dangerous, ranked for quality among the 6% worst in the United States.”
Mr. Sherlock is getting his information from an important source – the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services or CMS. More particularly, a wonderful service provided by CMS called Hospital Compare. Hospital Compare provides consumers of health care with information about the quality of care provided by over 4,000 Medicare-certified hospitals across America. The service rates hospitals on a 5 star basis…1 star the worst care and 5 star is the best.
Sadly, CMS gives Danville Regional Hospital and Martinsville Memorial Hospital (both part of SOVAH Health) only a 1 star rating. Virginians living in this part of our Commonwealth deserve better and, if they cannot get good medical care in Danville and Martinsville, they need to go where they can.