Reprint from the Progress Times - January 11, 2008
©Progress Times 2008 - All Rights Reserved

MRMC among top five percent in nation

 

According to the 10th Annual HealthGrades Hospital Quality in America Study issued this week, Mission Regional Medical Center ranks among the top five percent in the nation for overall pulmonary services.

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 Mission Regional Medical Center is ranked among the top five (fourth) in Texas for overall pulmonary services, Five-Star rated for overall pulmonary services, Five-Star rated for treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, recipient of the HealthGrades Maternity Care Excellence Award, Five-Star rated for maternity care and, ranked among the top five percent in the nation for maternity care.

"We are pleased that Mission Regional Medical Center is increasingly being recognized as a quality leader in providing patient care, not just in the Rio Grande Valley, but nationwide," said Javier Iruegas, CEO, Mission Regional Medical Center. "Our high ratings reflect the positive experiences of our patients and the high standards set by our physicians, nurses and support staff."

Patients admitted to the nation’s top-performing hospitals, five-star hospitals like Mission Regional Medical Center, have, on average, a 71 percent higher chance of surviving 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."

"I am alive today because of the doctors and the care I received at Mission Regional Medical Center," said Kenneth White. “I had a serious operation and the staff here were outstanding and great professionals."

The 10th Annual HealthGrades Hospital Quality in America Study identifies key trends in the quality of care provided by approximately 5,000 hospitals nationwide. HealthGrades researchers 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 one-star (poor), three-star (as expected), or five-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 website, located at www.healthgrades .com. 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.