PVHMC Earns Cal Hospital Compare Opioid Care Honor Roll for the Second Consecutive Year

Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center (PVHMC) was cited for “superior performance” and earned the Cal Hospital Compare (CHC) 2024 Opioid Care Honor Roll Program for the second consecutive year. PVHMC was recognized for its strategies to promote safe and effective opioid use, provide treatment for patients with opioid use disorder, access to naloxone to prevent overdose related deaths and reduce barriers to care by addressing stigma.

PVHMC received its superior performance rating for implementing advanced, innovative opioid stewardship strategies across multiple service lines and consistently achieving the highest level of performance. Additionally, PVHMC actively measured and monitored performance for the purpose of continued quality improvement.

“Opioid use disorder is a growing public health problem and addressing it in all aspects of care has become common practice at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center,” says Lolla Mitchell, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, Vice President of Nursing. “Across all service lines, our clinical teams and staff work together to develop care plans that monitor a patient’s pain management and recovery.”

Between January and March 2024, CHC, a performance reporting initiative managed by a multi-stakeholder board of directors, invited California adult, acute care hospitals to voluntarily submit their opioid management hospital self-assessment results to be considered for its 2024 Opioid Care Honor Roll. The 157 participating hospitals represent almost half of all adult, acute care hospitals in California. Participating hospitals reflect a diverse cross section of all California hospitals across rural, urban, and academic care settings.

Of the 157 participating hospitals, PVHMC was among 55 hospitals acknowledged for achieving "Superior Performance.” To ensure accuracy and validate the overall trend of high performance, each hospital on the honor roll underwent a comprehensive review and approval process by the Cal Hospital Compare Technical Advisory Committee and Board of Directors.

Participating hospitals answered eight questions across four key domains of care including safe and effective opioid use, identifying, and treating patients with Opioid Use Disorder, overdose prevention, and applying cross-cutting opioid management best practices.

“Anyone who has undergone a major surgery and has been prescribed a pain killer can be susceptible to an opioid disorder if their recovery isn’t managed closely,” says Dr. Eduardo Lares, MD, emergency medicine, Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center. “Our multi-disciplinary team approaches patient pain management as a standard of care. We understand that each patient and their condition require a personalized approach and monitoring to ensure a good outcome.”

In California alone, there were more than 7,285 opioid overdose deaths in 2022, including more than 6,473 deaths from fentanyl. Fentanyl related deaths have doubled in the last year. More than 21,000 emergency room visits were related to opioid overdoses.