Virginia Mason Medical Center received the 2010 HealthGrades Gastrointestinal Care Excellence Award™ and is ranked No. 1 in the state for gastrointestinal services, according to the leading independent health care ratings organization’s 12th annual Hospital Quality in America study that analyzes patient outcomes at virtually all of the nation’s hospitals.
The medical center also received the 2010 HealthGrades Pulmonary Care Excellence Award™, placing it in the top 5 percent in the nation for pulmonary services. In addition to the Excellence Awards, Virginia Mason received five-star ratings for stroke, pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, GI bleed, bowel obstruction and sepsis.
“Our providers and staff are committed to providing the highest quality care to our patients every day,” says Gary S. Kaplan, MD, Virginia Mason chairman and CEO. “Recognition such as this is a reflection of our team’s focus on our patients.”
The HealthGrades study, the largest annual report of its kind, analyzed patient outcomes in nearly 40 million Medicare hospitalization records from 5,000 hospitals over the years 2006, 2007 and 2008. This year’s study results across 17 procedures and diagnoses found:
● There is a 72 percent lower chance of dying in a five-star rated hospital compared to a one-star rated hospital, and a 52 percent lower chance of dying in a five-star rated hospital compared with the national average; and
● 224,537 Medicare lives could potentially have been saved from 2006 through 2008 if all hospitals performed at the level of a five-star rated hospital.
