Newswise — SEATTLE – (Jan. 20, 2016) – Virginia Mason Medical Center has received the Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence™ for the sixth consecutive year from Healthgrades, a leading online resource for information about physicians and hospitals in the United States.
As a 2016 award recipient, Virginia Mason ranks among the top 5 percent of the more than 4,500 hospitals evaluated by Healthgrades. Virginia Mason the only medical center in Washington state to receive the award for six consecutive years (2011-2016).
“This honor is a result of the steadfast commitment of our physicians, nurses and other clinical team members to providing our patients the highest quality care every day,” said Virginia Mason Chairman and CEO Gary S. Kaplan, MD.
From 2012 through 2014 (the study period for the 2016 award), patients treated at Virginia Mason and the other 259 hospitals that earned the Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence had, on average, an overall 26.5 percent lower risk of dying than if they were treated in a hospital that did not receive the award, according to Healthgrades.
“Unfortunately, not all hospitals perform equally when it comes to clinical outcomes, so it’s important that consumers do their research in order to find the right care,” said Healthgrades Chief Strategy Officer Evan Marks. “We commend those hospitals that have achieved Healthgrades 2016 Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence for demonstrating an unwavering commitment to high quality care to accomplish these results.”
If all hospitals performed at the level of Virginia Mason and the other Distinguished Hospitals for Clinical Excellence award winners, an estimated 158,858 lives could potentially have been saved, according to Healthgrades.
“Virginia Mason is distinguished by the focus on improving all aspects of care, from service to outcomes to safety, at every touch point for every patient across the organization,” Dr. Kaplan said. “The primary reason we are here is to improve the health and well-being of the individuals who entrust us with their care.”
Kirkland, Wash.-based EvergreenHealth, with which Virginia Mason has a strategic partnership, also received the 2016 Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence.
To be eligible for the award, a hospital must be evaluated by Healthgrades for its performance in at least 21 of 32 most common procedures and conditions. The evaluation is based on Medicare inpatient data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Medicare Provider Analysis and Review (MedPAR) data files.
Healthgrades evaluates clinical performance for nearly every hospital in the nation; no hospital can opt in or opt out of being evaluated, and no hospital pays to be evaluated. To learn more about how Healthgrades determines its award recipients, visit healthgrades.com/quality.
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