Everett, Wash. (October 13, 2009) – Providence Regional Medical Center Everett (PRMCE) ranks number one in Washington in three specialty areas according to a study issued today by HealthGrades, the leading independent healthcare ratings organization.  Providence Regional Medical Center Everett ranks number one in Washington for overall cardiac care, cardiology, and critical care, each for the third year in a row.
 
The study identifies Providence Regional among the top five percent of hospitals nationally for critical care services such as treatment of respiratory failure, and among the top ten percent of hospitals for stroke care.  Due to its outstanding patient outcomes in these areas, Providence Regional received the following awards from HealthGrades:
·        Stroke Care Excellence Award™ for the fifth year in a row
·        Critical Care Excellence Award™ for the fifth year in a row
 
“With the national healthcare reform debate on everyone’s mind, it’s imperative that hospitals keep focused on providing high quality care for our patients,” says David Brooks, Providence Regional CEO. “At Providence we work in tandem with physicians to analyze data, benchmark our performance against the nation’s best and encourage innovation.  With this pursuit of excellence imbedded in our culture, the result is superior patient outcomes. These awards are a tribute to the deep commitment of our physicians and staff to excellent patient care.”
 
The HealthGrades twelfth annual Hospital Quality in America study, the largest annual report of its kind, analyzed patient outcomes from nearly 40 million Medicare hospitalization records.
 
Top-performing hospitals had dramatically lower mortality rates than other hospitals, according to the study. For the 17 procedures and diagnoses for which HealthGrades analyzed mortality rates, patients at top hospitals had a 72 percent lower chance of dying when compared with the lowest-performing hospitals, and a 52 percent lower chance of dying when compared to the U.S. national average.
 
According to the study, Providence Regional has outstanding patient outcomes across several clinical areas, including five-star ratings for:
·         Treatment of heart attack
·         Treatment of heart failure
·         Stroke treatment
·         Pneumonia treatment
·         Pancreatitis
·         Appendectomy
·         Treatment of sepsis (systemic infection of the blood stream)
·         Treatment of pulmonary embolism which is the blockage of one or more arteries in the lungs, often caused by a blood clot traveling to the lungs from another part of the body
·         Treatment of respiratory failure
 
Earlier this year in two separate studies, Providence Regional was ranked in the top five percent of hospitals nationally for overall quality, and named aHealthGrades Distinguished Hospital for Clinical Excellence for the third consecutive year, and named a Women’s Health Excellence Award™ recipient for outstanding patient outcomes for women.
 
 
HealthGrades Ratings
The HealthGrades twelfth annual Hospital Quality in America study, the largest annual report of
HealthGrades rates hospitals independently based on data that hospitals submit to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 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 today’s HealthGrades study, including the complete methodology, can be found at www.healthgrades.com.
 
About Providence Regional Medical Center Everett
Providence Regional Medical Center Everett is a tertiary referral center serving five counties with comprehensive, not-for-profit, mission-based health care.  In addition to its award-winning cardiac services, critical care and vascular care, Providence Regional Medical Center Everett also offers general medical and surgical care, and specialized treatment in areas such as oncology, newborn intensive care, orthopedics, neurosurgery, trauma, and pediatrics. Providence Regional Medical Center Everett has three campuses located at 1321 Colby and 916 Pacific Avenue in Everett and 12800 Bothell-Everett Highway, Mill Creek.  For more information, visit www.providence.org