Good Samaritan Hospital Among Top Five Percent in Nation According to Quality Study
2009-01-27 10:52:03 -
Good Samaritan Hospital, One of America's 50 Best Hospitals two years in a row in 2007 and 2008, is one of only 270 hospitals to receive HealthGrades Distinguished Hospital for Clinical Excellence Award". This distinction is based on an independent study released today by HealthGrades, the leading healthcare ratings company.
The study of quality at the nation's nearly 5,000 non-federal hospitals places Good Samaritan Hospital in the top five percent for overall clinical quality. According to the HealthGrades study, Distinguished Hospitals for Clinical Excellence had mortality rates that were, on average, 27 percent lower than other hospitals, and major complication rates that were eight percent lower.
For seven years now, HealthGrades has conducted the most comprehensive studies of hospital quality in America, producing ratings for every non-federal hospital. Hospitals that receive the Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence are those hospitals that excel across the 26 procedures and diagnoses rated.
The study also shows that Distinguished Hospitals for Clinical Excellence", such as Good Samaritan Hospital, are improving at a greater rate in more procedures and diagnoses than all other hospitals, lowering risk-adjusted mortality rates over the years 2005, 2006, 2007 by an average of 18 percent.
"Distinguished Hospitals for Clinical Excellence comprise an unparalleled group of hospitals that excel across the board, not just in one or two specialties, and they should be commended for their relentless commitment to exceptional patient care. Patients should expect and demand the same level of care at all hospitals," said Rick May, MD, HealthGrades senior physician consultant, and an author of the study.
For its study, HealthGrades analyzed almost 41 million Medicare hospitalization records that cover the latest three-year period, from 2005 to 2007. Because the hospitalization records come from the federal government, no hospital can opt in or out of HealthGrades' rating process. The analysis is risk-adjusted to account for differences in patient populations between hospitals.
HealthGrades found that Distinguished Hospitals for Clinical Excellence? outperformed all other hospitals across the procedures and diagnoses studied. HealthGrades estimates that 152,666 lives could have been saved and 11,772 complications could have been avoided over the three years studied if all Medicare patients were treated at Distinguished Hospitals for Clinical Excellence.
A full copy of the study is available at www.healthgrades.com.
About Good Samaritan Hospital
First opened in 1885, Good Samaritan Hospital is a 408-bed tertiary care facility offering some of the most comprehensive care in Los Angeles. Specializing in cardiac services, women's services, orthopedics, oncology, and ophthalmology, Good Samaritan Hospital offers Cardiology and Cardiothoracic Surgery, Neurosciences program featuring the Gamma Knife radiosurgery, Oncology Program, Kidney Stone services, and Transfusion-Free Medicine and Surgery Center. For more information, visit www.goodsam.org.
Hospital Contact
Katrina R. Bada, 213-977-2911
kbada@goodsam.org
or
HealthGrades Contact
Scott Shapiro, 720-963-6584
sshapiro@healthgrades.com
