Page 106 - 2015 Compass Now

patients who received care consistent with their end-of-life wishes. Minnesota leads the nation in most of
the AHRQ measures, including having the highest ranked hospital in the nation (Mayo Clinic in Rochester),
lowering the number of uninsured by 41%, and being ranked the best state in the country for long-term care.

Within the state of Wisconsin, 19 of the largest health systems have partnered to create the Wisconsin
Collaborative for Healthcare Quality (WCHQ)22. Founded in 2003, the collaborative began developing,
sharing, and publishing measures of clinical quality that were critical to overall health care improvement.
The participants stated, “We see performance measurement and public reporting as vital and dual
mechanisms for promoting greater transparency, improvement, efficiency, and equity within health care.”
Sharing health system level results and learning from each other has had a significant impact on overall
health care quality. Gundersen Health System and Mayo Clinic Health System are the two primary healthcare
providers within the Great Rivers Region that participate in this collaborative. Both organizations provide
data on all of their hospital and clinic encounters.

Quality of clinical care is one of the measures included in the “2015 County Health Rankings Report.” The
clinical care measures include seven specific measurements within two dimensions: access to care and
quality of care. According to these measures, La Crosse County ranked second in Wisconsin, and Houston
County ranked sixth in Minnesota (Table 11). Houston County has the lowest preventable hospital stay rate
in the region, followed by La Crosse County. All counties have between 89-92% of their diabetic Medicare
enrollees screened. Houston County has the highest mammography screening rate, while Vernon County the
lowest.

Table 11: 2015 Quality of Clinical Care & Measures of Access to Care

La Crosse Monroe Trempealeau Vernon Houston

Clinical Care Rank in State 2 48 43 65 6

Measures of Quality of Care

Preventable hospitals stays

(rate per 1,000 Medicare 39 61 59 59 30

enrollees)

Diabetic screening
(% of diabetic Medicare 92% 92% 92% 89% 91%
enrollees screened)

Mammography screening 75.3% 70.2% 74.1% 59.3% 76.0%
(% of female Medicare
enrollees screened)

Primary care providers (ratio 710:1 1,611:1 3,255:1 1,375:1 1,570:1
of population to providers)

Uninsured (% under 65 9% 13% 11% 14% 9%
without insurance in 2012)

Dentists 1167:1 2265:1 4226:1 2757:1 2089:1

Mental Health Providers 423:1 755:1 1972:1 820:1 4700:1

Source: County Health Rankings, Mobilizing Action Toward Community Health.

Wisconsin counties’ rankings are out of 72 counties. Minnesota’s are out of 87 counties.

HEALTH Access to Health Care

Two measures of access are identified in the County Health Rankings Report and are available for Great
Rivers Region counties (see Table 11). These measures are the rate of uninsured adults (based on 2012 data)

98 COMPASS NOW 2015