Dignity Health North State Hospitals Recognized for Commitment to Safe Opioid Care

REDDING, Calif. (July 31, 2023) – Dignity Health Mercy Medical Center Redding and Mercy Medical Center Mt. Shasta has earned the highest possible honor roll recognition for its commitment to appropriate opioid use and safe treatment by Cal Hospital Compare for two consecutive years. St. Elizabeth Community Hospital was also recognized for ‘Most Improved’ and commitment to safe opioid care.

Mercy Medical Center Redding and Mercy Medical Center Mt. Shasta achieved ‘Sustained Superior Performance’ for implementing advanced, innovative opioid stewardship strategies across multiple service lines and consistently achieving the highest level of performance for two consecutive years. “We continue to play a critical role in the opioid crisis by implementing effective opioid management practices, providing access to addiction treatment and reducing opioid-related deaths in our community,” said Elizabeth Pulatie, Vice President of Patient Care Services, Mercy Medical Center Mt. Shasta. “As we learn more about opioid use disorder our active treatment and harm prevention strategies are evolving. This recognition acknowledges our efforts to improve our quality of care,” added Kathleen Delikowski, Director of Pharmacy, Mercy Medical Center Redding.

Every day, more than 301 people in the United States die after overdosing on opioids. The misuse of and addiction to opioids—including prescription pain relievers, heroin, and synthetic opioids such as fentanyl—is a serious national crisis. In California there were over 7,100 opioid overdose deaths in 2021, including over 3,900 deaths from fentanyl.

The California Opioid Care Honor Roll Program was created to accelerate hospital progress in building systems to treat hospitalized patients with OUD and train health care professionals in opioid safety practices. The goal of the program is to increase access to addiction treatment for hospitalized patients and reduction of opioid-related deaths.

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About Dignity Health

Dignity Health is a multi-state nonprofit network of 10,000 physicians, more than 60,000 employees, 41 acute care hospitals, and 400-plus care-centers, including community hospitals, urgent care, surgery and imaging centers, home health, and primary care clinics in Arizona, California, and Nevada. Dignity Health is dedicated to providing compassionate, high-quality, and affordable patient-centered care with special attention to the poor and underserved. Dignity Health is a part of CommonSpirit Health, a nonprofit health system committed to advancing health for all people and dedicated to serving the common good. For more information, please visit our website at www.DignityHealth.org