Good Samaritan Hospital In The Top 5% In Women's Health According To HealthGrades(R) Study

Main Category: Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 27 Jun 2008 - 1:00 PST

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Good Samaritan Hospital announced that it has been recognized in the top 5 percent for women's health services based on a study by HealthGrades, the nation's leading independent health care ratings company. The HealthGrades Fifth Annual Report on Women's Health Outcomes in U.S. Hospitals which analyzed cardiac and stroke outcomes for women as well as maternity care, found the best-performing hospitals, those rated with five stars, had an overall risk-adjusted inhospital mortality rate that was 40 percent lower than poor performing hospitals. Additionally, Good Samaritan Hospital received a five-star rating for maternity care and is also ranked among the top 5 percent of hospitals for maternity care services.

The HealthGrades study analyzed the outcomes of women admitted with heart disease and stroke to more than 1,400 U.S. hospitals. The study found that the risk-adjusted mortality rates for women improved, on average, 15 percent from 2004 through 2006, but a wide disparity in quality exists between the nation's best and worst hospitals.

If all hospitals studied performed at the level of the best-performing hospitals during 2004 through 2006, more than 14,000 deaths among women hospitalized for cardiovascular disease could have been potentially prevented.

In recent years, public health campaigns aimed at raising awareness among women about their risks of cardiovascular disease have impacted early recognition of cardiovascular disease (CVD) symptoms and prompted women to seek treatment earlier. Interventions targeted at reducing the risk of late or undetected CVD symptoms have likely contributed to the mortality improvements found in the study.

For its 2008/2009 ratings, HealthGrades independently analyzed the quality of maternity care, as well as the cardiac and stroke outcomes for women, at hospitals in the 17 states that publish outcomes data, objectively assessing their clinical performance and quality. HealthGrades applied the following rating system to all hospitals included in the analysis:

- Five-star (Best) = Top 15% of all hospitals within 17 states
- Three-star (Average) = Middle 70% of all hospitals within 17 states
- One-star (Poor) = Bottom 15% of all hospitals within 17 states

The 2008/2009 HealthGrades ratings for maternity care are based on a programmatic evaluation including complication rates for c-sections and vaginal deliveries, delivery volume, and neonatal mortality. Women's Health ratings combine a hospital's maternity care rating with clinical performance in the treatment of stroke and cardiac services for women, including heart surgery, heart attack, heart failure, and cardiac interventions.

The complete maternity care and women's health services ratings and methodology are published, free of charge, on the HealthGrades Web site, http://www.healthgrades.com. Ratings for 27 other medical procedures and diagnoses - including cardiac, pulmonary, vascular, stroke, orthopedics, critical care, bariatrics, and gastrointestinal services - are also available on the HealthGrades Web site.

About Good Samaritan Hospital

First opened in 1885, Good Samaritan Hospital is a 408-bed tertiary care facility offering some of the most comprehensive care in Los Angeles. Good Samaritan Hospital offers Cardiology and Cardiothoracic Surgery services, Neurosciences program featuring the Gamma Knife radiosurgery, Opthalmologic Program including Retinal Surgery, Orthopedic Surgical Program including Sports Medicine, Oncology Program using the latest in radiation therapy - IMRT and HDR, Kidney Stone services, Transfusion-Free Medicine and Surgery Center, and Emergency Services.

Good Samaritan Hospital

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