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HealthGrades Ranks John Muir Medical Centers
Among Top Five Percent of
U.S. Hospitals for Clinical Excellence
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In an independent study released today of clinical care at nearly 5,000 U.S. hospitals, John Muir Medical Center - Walnut Creek Campus and John Muir Medical Center - Concord Campus ranked among the top five percent of hospitals nationally for the second consecutive year.
The annual study of mortality and complication rates across 27 medical procedures and diagnoses is conducted by HealthGrades, the independent health care quality company that analyzes clinical outcomes, performance and quality at the nation's 4,971 non-federal hospitals. This year, only 296 hospitals achieved ranking in the top five percent.
In presenting the 2008 Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence™ to each of the medical centers, HealthGrades noted that patients admitted to hospitals receiving the award are, on average, 27 percent less likely to face mortality and 5 percent less likely to experience a major complication.
HealthGrades estimates that, if all patients at surveyed hospitals in 2004-2006 were treated at Distinguished Hospitals, 171,424 lives could have been saved and 9,671 post-operative complications could have been avoided.
"We're pleased to have the independent HealthGrades organization recognize the efforts of our exceptional hospital and medical staffs," says Roy Kaplan, M.D., medical director of quality and clinical effectiveness. "Clinical excellence is ingrained in the culture of John Muir Health. We're constantly pushing ourselves, even beyond the boundaries of national benchmarks. We strive for the ideal: optimal outcomes and safety for every patient."
Dawn Knight, vice president of quality and patient safety for John Muir Health, echoes this characterization. "The HealthGrades award is validation of the work we do every day. At John Muir Health, we expect nothing less than exceptional care. Benchmarks and national targets are great sources of comparison but they fall short of excellence. This means that, in our pursuit of quality, we're concerned with each and every patient, not just a majority."
For example, in 2007, when the Centers for Disease Control established a national benchmark for hospital-acquired pneumonia at 2.7 per 1,000 days for patients on ventilators, Knight says they targeted zero infections. In a report just released, the John Muir medical centers in Walnut Creek and Concord reported that, in 2007, ventilator-associated pneumonia rates were 0.2 and 0.3, respectively, per 1,000 ventilator days.
For more information www.healthgrades.com.