Whidbey General Hospital clinics rank among the top three along the Interstate 5 corridor, including Seattle and Bellingham clinics.

The clinics include Whidbey Community Physicians in Oak Harbor, South Whidbey Healthcare Clinic in Freeland and the South Whidbey Community Clinic in Clinton.

The ranking was announced during the December 8 board meeting.

Triple Aim is the goal of improving the health of the community, enhancing the patient experience of care — including quality, access and reliability — and reducing the cost per capita of care, according to the organization’s website.

“The rankings mean that our providers are successfully advocating important screenings and other forms of preventive care,” said Teresa Fulton, Whidbey General Hospital’s quality control officer.

“Our patients receive care that not only addresses whatever brought them into the clinic that day, but also identifies important interventions for long-term health and well being.”

Fulton said the clinics rank above their peers in three areas: well-child visits for patients ages 3 to 6, child access care for patients ages 7 to 11, and in preventive measures. Those preventive measures include cervical, colorectal and breast cancer screenings. Fulton said the number of clinics involved in the project, however, is confidential, per the project organizer’s rules.

Whidbey General Hospital clinics also rank “at or above our peer group” in managing chronic diseases like diabetes, Fulton said.

“In addition, we are in the upper 10 percent of clinics reducing the cost of care through use of generic medication.”

Keith Mack, the public relations liaison for the hospital, said the rankings mean “our clinic providers are proactive advocates for better health in our community.”

“If you do not measure quality, you don’t know where and how to improve,” Fulton said. “We measure our baseline results, develop intervention strategies and constantly measure results so we can improve both access and quality of care on Whidbey.”

Because they’re constantly updating results, the clinics have the chance to rank even higher.

Starting in January 2015, the hospital will be including the North Whidbey Community Clinic in the project, as well.

“Results are being shared with clinic providers, who are developing strategies to provide as many community members as possible with care that meets the IHI Triple Aim,” Fulton said.