Member News Releases
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
October 18, 2007
HealthGrades study finds patient outcomes at SwedishAmerican among nation’s best
From SwedishAmerican Health System in Rockford
According to the Tenth Annual HealthGrades Hospital Quality In America Study issued today, SwedishAmerican Hospital ranks among the top five percent in the nation for cardiac surgery. The study, the largest of its kind, analyzed patient outcomes at virtually all of the nation’s 5,000 hospitals over the years 2004, 2005 and 2006.
The study also found that SwedishAmerican Hospital is:
- The only Hospital in Rockford to receive the HealthGrades 2008 Cardiac Surgery Excellence Award
- Ranked Among the Top 5 (#3) in IL for Cardiac Surgery
- Best Rated in Rockford IL for Overall Cardiac Care
- Best Rated in Rockford IL for Cardiac Surgery
- Best Rated in Rockford IL for Cardiology
- Five-Star Rated for Coronary Bypass Surgery
- Received the Highest Possible Star Ratings for Coronary Bypass Surgery
"We are very pleased to receive this commendation," said Dr. Bill Gorski, President and CEO for SwedishAmerican, "To have an independent study validate our efforts is especially gratifying. Our physicians and staff work very hard to provide our community with the highest level of care."
Patients admitted to the nation's top-performing hospitals, five-star hospitals like SwedishAmerican, have, on average a 71 percent lower chance of dying than those treated at one-star hospitals across 18 procedures and conditions analyzed according to the study. HealthGrades is the nation's leading independent ratings company.
"Our research shows that while the overall quality of hospital care in America is improving, the gap between the best-performing hospitals and the worst persists," said Dr. Samantha Collier, HealthGrades' chief medical officer and author of the study. "This persistent gap makes it imperative that anyone planning to be admitted to a hospital do their homework and seek out highly rated facilities."
The Tenth Annual HealthGrades Hospital Quality In America Study identifies key trends in the quality of care provided by approximately 5,000 hospitals nationwide. HealthGrades researches analyzed Medicare discharges from virtually every U.S. hospital between 2004 and 2006. Risk-adjusted mortality and complication rates were calculated and hospitals were assigned a 1-star(poor), 3-star(as expected), or 5-star (best) quality rating for 28 diagnoses and procedures from heart failure to hip replacement to pneumonia.
The 2008 HealthGrades ratings for all hospitals nationwide are available, free of charge, on the organization’s award-winning consumer Web site, located at www.healthgrades.com. More than three million individuals and employees of some of the nation's largest employers and health plans visit HealthGrades each month to access quality information about hospitals, nursing homes and physicians. HealthGrades also provides consumers and payers with detailed assessments of hospitals' patient-safety outcomes, based on indicators developed by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
SwedishAmerican is a not-for-profit, locally governed healthcare system dedicated to providing excellence in healthcare and compassionate care to our community. Headquartered in Rockford, Illinois, SwedishAmerican Health Systems serves 12 counties in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin through: a dedicated and caring staff; a major acute care hospital; a network of 14 primary care and multi-specialty clinics; the region's largest home health care agency; a full spectrum of outpatient, wellness and education programs; the charitable endeavors of The SwedishAmerican Medical Foundation.