Leading Healthcare Ratings Company Ranks Providence Holy Cross Medical Center Among Top Five Percent Nationally for Clinical Excellence

Providence Holy Cross Medical Center has announced that a study of quality at the nation’s 4,971 hospitals named the hospital as one of the top five percent in the nation and a recipient of the 2007 Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical ExcellenceTM .  The study conducted by HealthGrades, the leading healthcare ratings company, found that hospitals in the top five percent in the nation had mortality rates that were, on average, 28 percent lower than other hospitals, and major complication rates that were 5 percent lower.  This is second consecutive year that Providence Holy Cross received this recognition.

Each year, HealthGrades conducts the most comprehensive studies of hospital quality in America, producing a rating for every non-federal hospital in 28 diagnoses and procedures. Hospitals that receive the Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence are those hospitals that place among the top 5 percent nationally when all 28 ratings are aggregated into a comprehensive score. Only 266 hospitals nationwide are recognized.

Providence Holy Cross has a very strong quality improvement infrastructure which includes utilizing Six Sigma methodology, as well as a Board of Directors that is engaged and focused on quality,” said Bernard Klein, MD, Chief Medical Officer for Providence Holy Cross Medical Center.  “Unlike many other hospitals, Providence Holy Cross also has an incredibly strong collaborative relationship between nursing, administration and the medical staff.”

Providence Holy Cross Medical Center is also the recipient of HealthGrades 2007 Stroke Care Excellence Award™, the 2007 Pulmonary Care Excellence Award™, and the 2007 Gastrointestinal Care Excellence Award™, ranking them in the top 10 percent of nation for these specialty areas.  Last year, Providence Holy Cross was recognized with the 2006-2007 HealthGrades Women’s Health Excellence Award™, as well as the 2006 Distinguished Hospital for Clinical Excellence.

This acknowledgment follows the medical center’s recognition in 2003 as one of the Top 50 in the country for its excellent care with treating respiratory disorders, according to U.S. News & World Report magazine’s prestigious “America’s Best Hospitals” rankings.

“These awards are a great testament to the expert care and compassion that our physicians, our nurses and all of our staff provide to our patients,” said Kerry Carmody, Administrator of Providence Holy Cross Medical Center.  “It’s been a pleasure to work with a great health care team here, and I’m glad our team is receiving such great recognition.”

“Providence Holy Cross has an excellent medical staff and leadership who understand the importance of and are dedicated to providing quality care to every patient, every day,” Klein said.

About HealthGrades
For its study, HealthGrades performed an analysis of almost 39 million Medicare hospitalization records that cover the latest three-year period, from 2003 to 2005.  The analysis is risk-adjusted to account for differences in patient populations between hospitals. In the study, HealthGrades found that Distinguished Hospitals for Clinical Excellence outperformed all other hospitals across the procedures and diagnoses studied. HealthGrades estimates that if during the time period studied all patients had gone to a Distinguished Hospital, 158,264 lives could have been saved and 12,410 post-operative complications could have been avoided.

About Providence Holy Cross Medical Center
As a 255-bed, not-for-profit facility, Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills offers a full continuum of health services, from outpatient to inpatient to home health care.