GSMC News – GSMC RECEIVES DISTINGUISHED HOSPITAL AWARD FOR CLINICAL EXCELLENCE

Recognized for outstanding clinical performance by HealthGrades, the leading independent healthcare

LONGVIEW (January 27, 2009) – Good Shepherd Medical Center announced today that it is among the nation’s top five percent of hospitals, according to an independent study of mortality and complication rates for nearly 5,000 hospitals released today by HealthGrades, the nation’s leading healthcare ratings company.

Good Shepherd Medical Center has achieved HealthGrades’ 2009 Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical ExcellenceTM based on its clinical quality performance. According to the HealthGrades study, patients admitted to a hospital receiving this award are, on average, 27 percent less likely to die and 8 percent less likely to suffer from a major complication. This year, only 270 of the nation’s nearly 5,000 non-federal hospitals will receive this distinction.

The HealthGrades study also found that Distinguished Hospitals for Clinical Excellence are improving their patient outcomes at a greater rate in more procedures and diagnoses than all other hospitals, lowering risk-adjusted mortality rates over the years 2005, 2006 and 2007 by an average of 18%.

The level of quality healthcare practiced by the medical staff and employees of Good Shepherd Medical Center is unsurpassed in our region,” said Ed Banos, President and CEO of Good Shepherd Health System. “The awards we continue to receive from HealthGrades are evidence of a truly talented and dedicated staff. It is because of their hard work and commitment that our patients and their families receive healthcare services that are among the best in the nation.”

“The hospitals that have been designated as Distinguished Hospitals for Clinical ExcellenceTM have, across the board, been leaders in their commitment to delivering the highest quality patient care. Consumers can choose where they receive their healthcare and our study again highlights the tremendous disparity in quality between hospitals,” said Rick May, MD, HealthGrades senior physician consultant.

In October, Good Shepherd received HealthGrades 2009 Specialty Excellence awards in four areas: Coronary Intervention, Spine Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery and General Surgery. Five-star ratings in 21 areas were also received, including treatment of stroke, treatment of respiratory failure, treatment of heart attack and treatment of heart failure. Good Shepherd previously was awarded the Distinguished Hospital for Clinical Excellence in years 2003 through 2007.

This is the seventh year that HealthGrades has independently analyzed the clinical quality performance of all non-federal hospitals across the country in 26 procedures and diagnoses. In the Distinguished Hospital Study, the company reviewed nearly 41 million hospitalization records from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, over the years 2005, 2006 and 2007. All hospitals that participate in the Medicare program were part of the independent study. Hospitals that receive the HealthGrades Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical ExcellenceTM are those hospitals that rank in the top five percent when all 26 individual scores are aggregated into an overall score.