Norwalk Hospital was awarded the distinction of Distinguished Hospital for Clinical Excellence™ by HealthGrades. From left are: Dr. Stephen O’Mahony, chief medical information officer and medical quality officer, and Daniel J. DeBarba, Jr., president and CEO of the hospital.
Norwalk Hospital announced today that HealthGrades, the nation's most trusted source of health care provider information, has named it a Distinguished Hospital for Clinical Excellence™. This prestigious distinction places Norwalk Hospital among the top 5% of hospitals nationwide for clinical performance.
HealthGrades Hospital Quality and Clinical Excellence study, released today, objectively identifies those hospitals with the best overall clinical performance across 26 medical diagnoses and procedures that the organization rates. These 263 top-performing hospitals represent only 5% of the nation’s hospitals and each is designated as a HealthGrades Distinguished Hospital for Clinical Excellence™.
"Norwalk Hospital can be proud of the contributions of its physicians, nurses and staff in achieving outstanding patient care,” said Kristin Reed, HealthGrades vice president of hospital ratings and author of the study. “The Fairfield County community is fortunate to have access to some of the highest quality hospital care in the nation.”
“We are proud to be named among the nation’s top hospitals for clinical excellence for the third year in a row,” said Daniel J. DeBarba, Jr. “Norwalk Hospital is committed to providing the best care to our patients and this national distinction demonstrates our organization wide commitment to quality,” he added.
Unlike other hospital quality studies, HealthGrades evaluates hospitals solely on clinical outcomes: risk-adjusted mortality and in-hospital complications. HealthGrades’ analysis is based on approximately 40 million Medicare discharges for the years 2008, 2009 and 2010. Using these top-performing hospitals as a benchmark in this year’s HealthGrades study, HealthGrades quantifies the impact of differences in hospital quality in terms of lives lost and unexpected complications.
The HealthGrades study found that:
? Distinguished Hospitals can be found in 38 states. The top cities for hospital quality, determined by having the highest percentage of Distinguished Hospitals in a Designated Market Area (DMA), are found in 26 states.
? Specifically, Distinguished Hospitals for Clinical Excellence had a 30.07% lower risk-adjusted mortality rate and a 1.86% lower risk-adjusted in-hospital complication rate among Medicare beneficiaries compared to all other hospitals.
? In fact, if all hospitals performed at the level of Distinguished Hospitals for Clinical Excellence, 165,704 Medicare lives could potentially have been saved and 6,800 Medicare in-hospital complications could potentially have been avoided.
Norwalk Hospital was previously rated the top hospital in Connecticut for stroke care, vascular surgery and prostate surgery according to the 2011 Healthcare Consumerism and Hospital Quality in America report released by HealthGrades last October. This report analyzed patient outcomes at nearly 5,000 American hospitals.
HealthGrades also rated Norwalk Hospital in the top five percent of hospitals nationally in stroke care and prostate surgery and named the hospital a recipient of its America 100 Best Hospitals Specialty Excellence Awards for Stroke and Prostatectomy Care (prostate surgery).
In addition to stroke care, prostate surgery and vascular surgery, six other hospital services were 5-star rated by HealthGrades, meaning they rank in the top 15 percent nationally. Those areas included:
Treatment of pneumonia
Treatment of sepsis
Gastrointestinal procedures and surgeries
Peripheral vascular bypass
Neurosciences
About Norwalk Hospital
Norwalk Hospital is a nationally-recognized 328-bed, community teaching hospital that serves a population of 250,000 in lower Fairfield County CT. The Hospital is a teaching affiliate of the Yale School of Medicine. Norwalk Hospital has more than 500 physicians on its medical staff, many of whom trained at the nation’s leading medical schools and hospitals, and 1,800 health professionals and support staff. The Hospital’s clinical services are anchored by signature services in cancer, digestive disorders, emergency medicine, heart and vascular, orthopedics/neuro/spine and women’s and children’s services.
HealthGrades Hospital Quality Distinctions
As part of this study, HealthGrades evaluates each of the nation’s 5,000 nonfederal hospitals in 26 procedures and diagnoses, allowing individuals to compare their local hospitals online at www.healthgrades.com. HealthGrades hospital quality distinctions are independently created; no hospital can opt-in or opt-out of being evaluated, and no hospital pays to be evaluated. Mortality and complication rates are risk adjusted, which takes into account differing levels of severity of patient illness at different hospitals and allows for hospitals to be compared equally.
About HealthGrades
HealthGrades, headquartered in Denver, Colorado, is a leading provider of comprehensive information about physicians and hospitals. More than 200 million consumers use the HealthGrades websites, including HealthGrades.com and BetterMedicine.com, to research, select, and connect with a physician or hospital, and use its comprehensive information about clinical outcomes, patient satisfaction, patient safety, and health conditions to make more informed healthcare decisions and take action. Find more information about our products and services at HealthGrades.com. Follow us on Twitter (@HealthGrades) and Facebook for news and updates. More information on how HealthGrades guides Americans to their best health can be found at www.healthgrades.com.
