Wisconsin’s health care ranked second in the nation

A federal agency which tracks how good health care is around the country says Wisconsin is among the best, second only to Minnesota.

The federal government’s Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality ranked states on 171 health measures. The indicators include a variety of aspects, from how many kids get vaccinated to hospital care for pneumonia and nursing home residents with pressure sores. Overall, Wisconsin was second best, just behind Minnesota. Kelly Court is chief quality officer at the Wisconsin Hospital Association. She says the federal report not only measures hospital care, but that in clinics, nursing homes and residences: “Most of us have health care needs of some type in a year. Not everyone goes to the hospital. Most people are not in a nursing home. But people get care all the time in physician offices. Many people get home care. So what’s exciting to me is that the excellence is across all the health care sectors.”

Wisconsin improved in its care of diabetics. And Court says the state also did better in area of health care that is growing: “We also see a big increase in the quality in home care agencies this year which is very good because more and more patients are receiving care in their home.”

The push for improvement nationwide has been boosted by provisions in health reform that seek to change how health care is paid for in order to improve outcomes.