Mercy Medical Center ranked No. 1 in Wisconsin for overall orthopaedic services and spine surgery
06 / 16 / 2010
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Maria Heim, Media Relations
Affinity Health System
(920) 720-1752
(920) 554-0686 (pager)
OSHKOSH, Wis. - Orthopaedic Services and Spine Surgery at Mercy Medical Center in Oshkosh have been ranked in the top 5 percent in the nation and No. 1 in Wisconsin by a study released by HealthGrades, the leading independent healthcare ratings organization. The HealthGrades study evaluates objective patient outcomes in the nation’s 5,000 hospitals.
As a result of this top national ranking, Mercy Medical Center is the recipient of HealthGrades 2010 Orthopaedic Surgery Excellence Award™, Joint Replacement Excellence Award™ and Spine Surgery Excellence Award™. Mercy received Five-Star ratings in all five orthopaedic procedures rated by HealthGrades, including total knee replacement, total hip replacement, hip fracture repair, back and neck surgery and spinal fusion surgery.
The new 2010 HealthGrades hospital ratings were posted at www.healthgrades.com, HealthGrades’ public website.
For patients, the ranking of Mercy Medical Center by Healthgrades, offers them reassurance that they have chosen one of the best hospitals in the nation to provide orthopaedic care, right within the Oshkosh community.
“Choosing a hospital is a big decision for anyone facing orthopaedic surgery,” said Bill Calhoun, president, Mercy Medical Center. “We consistently demonstrate that what we are doing is working well for patients by delivering positive outcomes. We expect to draw even more people from the state of Wisconsin, and beyond, to Oshkosh, which can economically impact our greater community moving forward.”
“We are honored to receive this award,” said Calhoun. “Being recognized with the Healthgrades ranking confirms the commitment of our employees and physicians to provide high quality, personalized care.”
HealthGrades Ratings
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. Among the findings related to in-hospital complications in this year’s study are:
- Across all procedures in which complications were studied, there was a 79.69 percent lower chance of experiencing one or more in-hospital complications in a 5-star rated hospital compared to a 1-star rated hospital.
- Across all procedures studied, there was a 61.22 percent lower chance of experiencing one or more in-hospital complications in a 5-star rated hospital compared to the U.S. hospital average.
- If all hospitals performed at the level of a 5-star rated hospital, 110,687 orthopaedic in-hospital complications may have been avoided among Medicare patients over the three years studied.
HealthGrades’ hospital ratings and awards reflect the track record of patient outcomes at hospitals in the form of mortality and complication rates. HealthGrades rates hospitals independently based on data that hospitals submit to the federal government. No hospital can opt in or out of being rated, and no hospital pays to be rated.
For 28 procedures and treatments, HealthGrades issues star ratings that reflect the mortality and complication rates for each category of care. Hospitals receiving a 5-star rating have mortality or complication rates that are below the national average, to a statistically significant degree. A 3-star rating means the hospital performs as expected. One-star ratings indicate the hospital’s mortality or complication rates in that procedure or treatment are statistically higher than average. Because the risk profiles of patient populations at hospitals are not alike, HealthGrades risk-adjusts the data to allow for apples-to-apples comparisons.
More information on the HealthGrades study, including the complete methodology, can be found at www.healthgrades.com.
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For the Editor:
Affinity Health System, a faith-based regional health care network, is a partnership of Ministry Health Care and Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare. Affinity Health System is the Fox Valley’s second-largest employer, according to the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce & Industry, and has been nationally listed for two years in a row among the top 50 health systems for quality and efficiency (Thomson Reuters, Modern Healthcare; 2009, 2010). For nine consecutive years, Affinity Health System has been named to the SDI Health (formerly Verispan) Integrated Health Network Top 100, an annual assessment of the 100 most highly integrated health care networks in the nation – Affinity ranks no. 81 in the 2011 report. Both St. Elizabeth Hospital in Appleton and Mercy Medical Center in Oshkosh rank among the top 1 percent of hospitals nationwide in terms of quality and efficiency, as determined by the 2007 Premier | CareScience Select practice National Quality Award. Network Health Plan has achieved Excellent accreditation status from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), the highest possible level. It has been nationally ranked in the Top 50 Health Insurance Plans for five consecutive years in the U.S. News and World Report/NCQA Best Health Plans in America listing. Members of Affinity include Mercy Medical Center and Mercy Health Foundation, Oshkosh; St. Elizabeth Hospital and the St. Elizabeth Hospital Foundation, Appleton; Affinity Medical Group, a regional network of 26 family practice and specialty clinics – 23 of which are transforming into medical home models – in 14 communities; Calumet Medical Center, Chilton; Network Health Plan, Menasha; and Affinity Occupational Health.