Member News Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
February 1, 2010

Provena Saint Joseph Medical Center Ranked Top Five Percent in Nation According to Quality Study -- Three Years in a Row

Provena Saint Joseph Medical Center announced today that a new study ranks its clinical quality among the top 5% in the nation for the last three consecutive years. The study by HealthGrades, the leading independent healthcare ratings organization, analyzed patient outcomes at each of the nation's 5,000 nonfederal hospitals over the years 2006, 2007 and 2008 and named hospitals in the top five percent as HealthGrades Distinguished Hospitals for Clinical Excellence™.

"We are very pleased to be recognized again this year — for the third year in a row — in an independent study showing that our clinical outcomes are among the best anywhere. The greatest recognition truly comes from the patients' experiencing excellent outcomes. It is our goal to provide the highest quality care and return each patient to the fullest life possible. And it is gratifying to receive national recognition for our work," said Jeff Brickman, FACHE, Provena Health System Senior Vice President, and President and CEO, Provena Saint Joseph Medical Center.

According to the eighth annual HealthGrades Hospital Quality and Clinical Excellence study, Provena Saint Joseph Medical Center and the other hospitals in the top 5% demonstrated patient outcomes that far exceeded those of other hospitals. Patients admitted to these hospitals had risk-adjusted mortality rates that were, on average, 29% lower than all other hospitals. Risk-adjusted complication rates were, on average, 9% lower than all other hospitals.

Provena Saint Joseph Medical Center is one of only 269 hospitals that received this distinction from HealthGrades and only one of 11 hospitals in Illinois to have received this distinction for 3 years in a row.

"Our data show that only a select few hospitals achieve high-quality patient outcomes not just in a few categories of care, but across the board and over time," said Rick May, MD, a vice president with HealthGrades and an author of the study. "Patients in communities with a Distinguished Hospital for Clinical Excellence should feel proud of the hospital's accomplishments, and confident that the level of care there is among the very best in the nation."

The study states: "Patients who choose to receive their care at a Distinguished Hospital for Clinical Excellence certainly will have a lower risk for an adverse clinical outcome relative to all other hospitals."

As a group, Provena Saint Joseph Medical Center and those identified as being in the top 5% in the nation improved their mortality rates at a faster pace than all other hospitals. Over the years 2006, 2007 and 2008, the HealthGrades study found that Distinguished Hospitals for Clinical Excellence lowered their risk-adjusted mortality rates over the three years by an average of 14%, compared with a 10% average improvement of all other hospitals.

In addition to ranking among the top 5% in the nation for clinical excellence, Provena Saint Joseph Medical Center also has been noted by HealthGrades for the following clinical achievements:

  • Ranked among the top 5 percent in the nation for Stroke care for the second year in a row
  • Ranked among the top 5 percent in the nation for Pulmonary Care for the fourth year in a row
  • Ranked among the top 10 percent in the nation for Cardiac Surgery for the second consecutive year
  • Ranked among the top 10 hospitals in Illinois for:
    • Cardiac Surgery
    • Stroke
    • Overall Pulmonary Services
    • Critical Care.

Methodology
This is the eighth year that HealthGrades has independently analyzed the clinical quality performance of all non-federal hospitals across the country in 26 procedures and diagnoses. In the study, the company reviewed approximately 40 million hospitalization records from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, over the years 2006, 2007 and 2008. All hospitals that participate in the Medicare program were part of the independent study. Hospitals that receive the HealthGrades Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence are those hospitals that rank in the top 5% when all 26 individual scores are aggregated into an overall score.

About Provena Saint Joseph Medical Center
Provena Saint Joseph Medical Center serves Will County and the southwest Chicago suburbs, providing the area's only 24/7 neurosciences program, advanced cardiac care with a world-class open heart program, family-centered obstetrics, a Level II Emergency Department that has been nationally recognized for eliminating wait, and leading-edge procedures such as Biplane and Trilogy. Provena Saint Joseph Medical Center is part of Mokena, Illinois-based Provena Health. Provena Health is a Catholic health system that includes six hospitals, 17 long-term care and senior residential facilities, 36 clinics, five home health agencies, hospice, private duty, and other health-related activities operating in Illinois and Indiana. Provena Health ministries are sponsored by the Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart, the Servants of the Holy Heart of Mary and the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas. Visit us on the web at www.provena.org/stjoes.