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closeEditor’s note: This story is part of a series for Sunshine Week, a national effort highlighting access to public records.
Want to know how common bedsores are at a nursing home before Grandma moves in?
Wonder how often a hospital gives important preventative antibiotics before Dad goes there for surgery?
Does the home health agency you’re hiring after your back surgery have a good track record in helping people improve their mobility?
Public records can give people searching for health services
a peek over inspectors’ shoulders. The U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services keeps a variety of comparison tools online with information
about the quality of nursing homes, hospitals, home health-
care agencies, dialysis treatment centers and Medicarerelated insurance plans.
Find them all at www.medicare.gov. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to find “Search Tools” including “Compare Hospitals in Your Area,” “Compare Nursing Homes in Your Area,” and other tools. Each allows you to search according to geographic area and examine several different quality measures. The Washington State Hospital Association also keeps a database examining cost information for common procedures at the state’s hospitals. The association’s Web site, www.wahospitalpricing.org, tracks average hospital-related charges for procedures ranging from childbirth to hip replacements. The association also keeps a Web site, www.wahospitalquality.org, comparing hospitals on the treatment of heart attacks and heart failure, pneumonia and infections.
Finally, look up the state’s Medical Quality Assurance Commission Web site to find out if doctors, nurses, dentists and a wide variety of other health-care workers have up-todate credentials. More importantly the site contains links to reports explaining any action that has been taken against their credentials. The Web site can be found at www.doh.wa.gov. Click on “Provider Credential Search” on the left side of the page.
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Physical Therapy Assistants
HealthForce -
Front Desk Supervisor
Interfaith Community Health Center -
Contracts Assistant, Financial Services
WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY -
Housekeeping / Laundry position
Highland Care Center -
Maintenance Assistant
Alderwood Park Convalescent Center
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