For Immediate Release:
February 8, 2007
Contact:
Vicki Kirby
AMC Director of Communications
(540) 332-4969
vkirby@augustamed.com
Ranked Top 5% In Nation Once Again!
Augusta Medical Center among Nation’s Best for Clinical Outcomes
Among The Top Five Percent in the Nation According to HealthGrades
Augusta Medical Center announced on February 8, 2007 that it had been named once again a recipient of the Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical ExcellenceTM, based on a study issued by HealthGrades, the nation’s leading independent healthcare ratings company. Hospitals receiving this award were rated in the top five percent in the nation, in terms of mortality and complication rates, for 26 procedures and diagnoses rated by HealthGrades. This is an amazing honor for the hospital. "This award is really something to be proud of, something all of our staff can be proud of. said Joseph L. Ranzini M.D., and QRM Chairman at AMC. “Being named as a top hospital in one of the largest healthcare studies in America validates all we have worked for.” This year Augusta Medical Center has been awarded the 2007 HealthGrades Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence, AMC is ranked among the top 5% in the nation for exceptional quality care.
“At Augusta Medical Center, we have a skillful and dedicated team of clinicians and employees,” said Fred Castello, M.D., and Chief Medical Officer at Augusta Medical Center. “It is because of their hard work that our patients and their families receive quality healthcare that is among the best in the nation.”
Only 266 U.S. hospitals qualified for this prestigious award in 2007 out of the 4,971 hospitals that were evaluated. This includes 143 teaching and 123 non-teaching hospitals. In order to be considered for the Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence, hospitals had to receive a rating in 22 of the 26 procedures and diagnoses analyzed by HealthGrades, based on their Medicare case volumes which looks at tens of millions of hospitalization records as reported during the 2003 – 2005 federal fiscal year. Hospitals achieving this level of care are identified on the organization’s consumer Web site, HealthGrades.com.
Disparities in the care patients receive, based simply on where they choose to seek treatment, highlight a troubling phenomenon in the U.S. healthcare system: a preventable gap between high-quality hospitals and the rest of the field.
The 2007 study found that 158,264 lives may have been saved and 12,410 major complications avoided during the three years studied, had the quality of care at all hospitals matched the level of those in the top five percent. These major complications include problems like viral pneumonia, heart or renal failure and bacterial infections.
Augusta Medical Center is also ranked in the top 5% of all hospitals nationally for Joint Replacement Surgery and Overall Pulmonary Care and in the top 10% of all hospitals nationally for General Surgery and the recipient of the Specialty Excellence Award for these three service lines.
“HealthGrades objectively assesses and rates hospital performance in order to help consumers make better and more informed healthcare choices,” explained Samantha Collier, M.D. HealthGrades vice president of medical affairs. “With consumers having a greater stake in their healthcare purchasing decisions, it’s important for them to know that there is a tremendous difference in clinical quality outcomes between hospitals.”
“In Fishersville and surrounding areas, Augusta Medical Center stands out notably in terms of delivering quality care for its heart attack, joint replacement, COPD, pneumonia, bowel obstruction and gall bladder surgery patients,” Collier added. “Patients, families and employers here truly have access to healthcare that is among the best in the nation.”
About HealthGrades: HealthGrades (Nasdaq:HGRD) is the leading healthcare ratings company, providing ratings and profiles of hospitals, nursing homes and physicians to consumers, corporations, health plans and hospitals. Millions of consumers and hundreds of the nation’s largest employers, health plans and hospitals rely on HealthGrades’ independent ratings to make healthcare decisions based on the quality of care. More information on the company can be found at http://www.healthgrades.com