Owensboro Medical Health System’s Quality Ranked Among the Top Five Percent in Nation Second Year in a Row

OWENSBORO, Ky. (January 26, 2010) – For the second consecutive year Owensboro Medical Health System (OMHS) is one of only 269 hospitals ranked among the top five percent in the nation for patient outcomes, according to a new study issued today by HealthGrades, the leading independent healthcare ratings organization. OMHS’s outstanding quality across more than two dozen procedures and diagnoses led to the facility being named a HealthGrades Distinguished Hospital for Clinical Excellence Award™ recipient for the second year in a row. OMHS is one of only three hospitals in Kentucky to receive this distinction, and the only one in Western Kentucky. 

Hospitals like OMHS ranked in the top five percent in the nation, according to the eighth annual HealthGrades Hospital Quality and Clinical Excellence study had, as a group, better patient outcomes and were improving their outcomes at a faster rate than all nonfederal other hospitals. The comprehensive study analyzed 40 million hospitalization records from 5,000 hospitals over the years 2006 to 2008.

Risk-adjusted mortality rates at Distinguished Hospitals for Clinical Excellence were 29% lower when compared to the other 95% of hospitals. In-hospital complication rates were 9% lower. In addition, these hospitals improved their mortality rates by an average of 14%, while the other 95% of hospitals improved by an average of 10%. Only 269 hospitals across the nation are 2010 Distinguished Hospitals for Clinical Excellence.

Christopher Havelda, MD, a cardiologist and chair of the Medical Staff Quality Committee, says OMHS’s move toward quality improvement began more than six years ago and reflects a cultural shift where the primary focus is on quality and patient safety.

“The improvements are a result of careful and thoughtful processes that include following evidence-based care and other initiatives undertaken by our hospital,” Havelda says. If we improve quality everything else falls into place.”

Vicki Stogsdill, vice president of nursing, says quality improvement remains the chief initiative in OMHS’s long-term strategies—including the new hospital slated to open in 2013.

“We feel a tremendous responsibility to our patients to provide care that is safe, efficient and effective,” Stogsdill says. “The new hospital will be built with evidence-based design to enable our caregivers to continue improving care delivery to ensure it remains timely and patient-centered.”

It has become an industry standard to evaluate and compare the quality of care at hospitals in terms of patient outcomes, the mortality and complication rates that patients experience at each hospital compared with all other hospitals.

 “Our data show that only a select few hospitals achieve high-quality patient outcomes not just in a few categories of care, but across the board and over time,” said Rick May, MD, a vice president with HealthGrades and an author of the study. “Patients in communities with a Distinguished Hospital for Clinical Excellence should feel proud of the hospital’s accomplishments, and confident that the level of care there is among the very best in the nation.”

Last October, a separate HealthGrades study recognized OMHS for quality in the following clinical specialty areas:

• Cardiac Surgery Excellence Award™ for the second year in row
• Pulmonary Care Excellence Award™ for the sixth year in a row
• Gastrointestinal Care Excellence Award™ for the sixth year in a row
• Gastrointestinal Surgery Award™ for the third year in a row

Methodology
This is the eighth year that HealthGrades has independently analyzed the clinical quality performance of all non-federal hospitals across the country in 26 procedures and diagnoses. In the study, the company reviewed approximately 40 million hospitalization records from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, over the years 2006, 2007 and 2008. All hospitals that participate in the HealthGrades Medicare program were part of the independent study. Hospitals that receive the HealthGrades Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence are those hospitals that rank in the top 5% when all 26 individual scores are aggregated into an overall score.

About Owensboro Medical Health System
Owensboro Medical Health System serves an 11-county region in Western Kentucky and Southern Indiana. The hospital received the HealthGrades Distinguished Hospital for Clinical Excellence Award in 2009, placing it among the top five percent of hospitals in the nation for quality. OMHS is a full-service hospital, employing a workforce of nearly 3,200. OMHS also operates the HealthPark, a medical-based fitness center and a number of ancillary services, clinics and diagnostic centers. Regional clinics include MultiCare locations in Madisonville and Beaver Dam (KY) and Tell City (IN). OMHS also provides care through the Clinic at Walmart, in Owensboro, Henderson (KY) and Newburgh (IN). 

Editor’s note: A full copy of the study is available at http://www.healthgrades.com or by contacting Scott Shapiro at sshapiro@healthgrades.com.