By: Robyn Darnell, FHW PR and Communications Coordinator
A lot can change over the course of a year. Through hard work and dedication, almost anything can develop and progress in that amount of time. At Family Health West (FHW), we’ve spent the last year diligently working towards measurable growth that empowers us to make every patient’s day a little bit better. Our efforts have been formally recognized through the 2025 Hospital Quality Incentive Payment (HQIP) program and through several honors awarded by Custom Learning Systems at the annual HealthCare Service Excellence Conference.
The HQIP program is part of the Colorado Hospital Provider Fee (HCPF) program, which offers supplemental payments to eligible hospitals that meet certain quality measures. The 2025 program measures maternal health and perinatal care, patient safety and patient experience for a total score out of 100 points.
In 2025, FHW scored a total of 97 points which places us in tier four, the highest option for the quality measures. This new score is a vast improvement from our previous score of 77 points and showcases all the hard work that our team has done throughout the hospital over the last 12 months.
In terms of our score, the main improvement from 2024 to 2025 was in the Health Equity Patient Safety section. The improvement in this section is due in large part to recent updates in employee training. In 2025, FHW pushed standardized, organization-wide education about racial and ethnic disparities and implicit bias. Nurses and providers were also offered education related to shared decision making. These trainings help support our commitment to providing excellent care to everyone regardless of their background or circumstances. Our aim is to support you in achieving your best health, regardless of your age, ethnicity, language, ability or financial situation.
FHW also improved in the Zero Suicide section of the Patient Safety Measurement group. Zero Suicide is a quality improvement framework that aims to enhance patient safety and prevent patient death by suicide. Our advancements in Zero Suicide are propelled by passionate employees who have worked diligently to ensure every patient is safe at FHW.
“The Zero Suicide Team has really gained momentum over the last couple years with consistent and engaged staff members,” FHW Quality Improvement Coordinator Kate Andersen said. “Last year we focused on using a standardized screening, assessment, and safety planning tool for all patients at risk for suicide and education on how to use these tools.”
In addition to our improved HQIP score, FHW also received a total of 6 awards from Custom Learning Systems during the annual HealthCare Service Excellence Conference. For 2025, we were recognized with an award for elevated excellence, care coordination, hospital recommendation, a clean hospital environment and a hospital rating of 9–10. FHW physician Dr. Paul Simmons also received an individual award for Customer Focused Physician at the conference.
None of this recognition would be possible without the dedication of every single FHW employee that supported our growth in 2025. We are honored, not solely to be the recipients of these awards, but to know we are providing the best possible care to all of our patients. In the future, we hope to continue to grow and strive for progress over perfection.
