2007 America’s 50 Best Hospitals
GSMC News – GOOD SHEPHERD RANKS AMONG AMERICA’S 50 BEST HOSPITALS
Recognition based on outstanding clinical performance over seven-year period.
Good Shepherd Medical Center announced that it has been recognized as one of America’s 50 Best Hospitals by HealthGrades, the nation’s leading independent healthcare ratings company.
The HealthGrades America’s 50 Best Hospitals designation, which is new this year, recognizes hospitals that have demonstrated superior clinical quality over a seven-year time period, based upon an analysis of tens of millions of Medicare patient records from 1999-2005. These hospitals have achieved better survival rates and lower complication rates across dozens of medical procedures and diagnoses, from cardiac care to orthopaedic surgery, consistently ranking among the top five percent in the nation for overall clinical outcomes.
In January, Good Shepherd announced it’s designation as a 2007 Distinguished Hospital for Clinical Excellence by HealthGrades. Good Shepherd has received this distinction each year, beginning in 2003.
“Good Shepherd continues to be a leader in clinical quality because we know that it is the most important service that we can offer our patients,” said Jerry D. Adair, President and CEO of Good Shepherd Health System.
“Our board, the medical staff and employees are committed to quality care. That mindset, along with leading technology, ensures that patients have a world of healthcare opportunity at Good Shepherd.”
The recipients of HealthGrades America’s 50 Best Hospitals were selected by identifying those hospitals that have also received the HealthGrades Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical ExcellenceTM the most consecutive times from 2007 and previous years. Good Shepherd Medical Center has received this prestigious national quality award from HealthGrades in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007.
Good Shepherd Medical Center also ranks among the top five percent of all hospitals nationally for Orthopaedic Care and Pulmonary Care. Good Shepherd received Specialty Excellence Awards for these two service lines.
In its most recent clinical study, issued on January 29, HealthGrades analyzed tens of millions of Medicare patient records from 4,971 hospitals over a three-year period (2003-05). HealthGrades found that patients admitted to a Distinguished Hospital are, on average, 28 percent more likely to survive and five percent less likely to have a major complication. HealthGrades also estimates that if all patients were treated at Distinguished Hospitals, 158,264 lives could have been saved and 12,410 post-operative complications could have been avoided during the three years studied. This is consistent with Distinguished Hospital studies conducted in previous years.