Carle Top Hospital for Care of Women; Only 176 U.S. hospitals achieve 2012 HealthGrades

The 176 hospitals achieving the award, including Carle, had, on average, women’s mortality rates that were 42 percent lower and complication rates 14 percent lower than the poorest performers across various diagnoses and procedures.

“This recognition reflects Carle’s commitment to being a leader in the quality of care being delivered to the communities we serve,” said James C. Leonard, MD, president and CEO, The Carle Foundation. “We are focused on attracting and retaining top medical experts, employing leading edge technologies and providing all patients with exceptional service.”

The report concluded that if all of the nation’s hospitals had patient outcomes among women that at the level of those receiving the HealthGrades award, 39,450 women could have potentially survived their hospitalization and 19,062 women could have potentially avoided a major in-hospital complication. No hospital can opt in or out of being rated, and no hospital pays to be rated.

“In our study HealthGrades noted the rate of surgical intervention for women suffering a heart attack has increased over the years. This is good news, especially for patients who choose care at hospitals that are top performers in women’s healthcare,” said Divya Cantor, MD, MBA, HealthGrades Senior Physician Consultant and author of the study. “Our goal is to provide current, independent data on clinical outcomes to help prospective patients make informed decisions about their providers while also identifying hospitals that are setting national benchmarks to which other hospitals can aspire.”

Visit www.healthgrades.com for the HealthGrades 2012 Trends in Women’s Health in American Hospitals report.

More about the study:
4,783 of the nation’s acute care hospitals were evaluated by HealthGrades as part of its HealthGrades 2012 Trends in Women’s Health in American Hospitals report. The study evaluated 16 women’s medicine, cardiovascular, and bone and joint health treatments and procedures from 2008 - 2010 using data from the federal Medicare program.

The HealthGrades study examined hospitalization records from the MedPAR database in all 50 states, for the years 2008 through 2010. The following procedures and treatments were analyzed: heart attack, congestive heart failure, pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, stroke, coronary bypass surgery, peripheral vascular bypass, coronary interventional procedures, resection/replacement of abdominal aorta, carotid surgery, and valve replacement; total knee and hip replacement surgeries, spinal surgeries, and hip fracture repair.

To be eligible for the HealthGrades award, hospitals must have met volume requirements in stroke and either coronary bypass or valve replacements; met the volume requirements in at least six additional cohorts of the 16 evaluated; and have transferred out less than 10 percent of stroke patients. Volume requirements are a minimum of 30 female discharges over the three years, with at least five in the most recent year for the cohort.

*East-Central IL is defined as Livingston, Iroquois, McLean, Ford, Dewitt, Piatt, Champaign, Vermilion, Macon, Moultrie, Douglas, Edgar, Coles, Shelby, Cumberland and Clark Counties. Southern Illinois is defined by all counties in Illinois south of Cumberland County.