Another 5-star rating for Fresno Heart & Surgical
For the second year in a row, Fresno Heart & Surgical Hospital has received a 5-star rating for the quality of its vascular care from HealthGrades®, a national independent health care ratings organization. The recognition is based on HealthGrades’ 12th annual Hospital Quality in America study, which analyzed patient outcomes over a three-year period at 5,000 hospitals nationwide.
Vascular surgeon Randall G. Stern said great support in the operating room and experience made the difference for patients. “If you look at the surgical literature, the more operations you do the better your outcomes, and we do more than most anyone since we’re the only ones in Fresno County to do this kind of surgery,” explained Dr. Stern, who is also associate clinical professor of surgery for UCSF Fresno Medical Education Program. “This 5-star rating recognizes hard work and attention to detail.”
Dr. Stern continued, “It’s also reassuring to patients that a surgery that’s high risk is done as well here as it’s done anywhere in the country and that they don’t have to leave Fresno to have it done.”
Wanda Holderman, the hospital’s chief executive officer, praised the vascular surgery team, “This latest HealthGrades’ recognition is a testament to the commitment of our staff and our affiliated physician and their relentless focus on quality care. This rating reflects our track record of exceptional patient outcomes – with significantly fewer complication rates than the national average.”
This second recognition for carotid surgery excellence marks top clinical ratings for all of the hospital’s main surgery lines – including its most recent, HealthGrades’ Bariatric Surgery Excellence Award for 2009. Patients also give the surgical hospital accolades for its amenities, care and service; for the past two years, Fresno Heart & Surgical has earned the “Outstanding Patient Experience Award” from HealthGrades.
The HealthGrades study analyzed patient outcomes in nearly 40 million Medicare hospitalization records from 5,000 hospitals from 2006 to 2008. This year’s study asserts:
• Across all 17 procedures and diagnoses in which mortality was studied, there was an approximate 72% lower chance of dying in a 5-star rated hospital compared to a 1-star rated hospital, and a 52% lower chance of dying in a 5-star hospital compared with the national average.
• If all hospitals performed at the level of a 5-star rated hospital across the 17 procedures and diagnoses studied, 224,537 Medicare lives could potentially have been saved from 2006 through 2008.
HealthGrades’ hospital ratings and awards are based on data that hospitals are required to submit to the federal government. No hospital can opt in or out of being rated, and no hospital pays to be rated. Because the risk profiles of patient populations at hospitals are not alike, data is risk-adjusted to allow for valid comparisons. The full study and 2010 hospital ratings are posted at http://www.healthgrades.com/,
This story was reported by Erin Kennedy. She can be reached at ekennedy@communitymedical.org