EvergreenHealth Named One of America's 100 Best Hospitals in Five Specialties

Of note EvergreenHealth doesn't have a mental health care specialty. 

Kirkland, Wash. – EvergreenHealth today announced it has been recognized by Healthgrades as one of America’s 100 Best™ hospitals in five specialties: stroke care, pulmonary care, gastrointestinal care, general surgery and critical care. These achievements are part of findings released this week in the Healthgrades 2018 Report to the Nation, which studies clinical performance indicators nationwide to illuminate differences in care between high- and low-performing hospitals.

This is the fifth consecutive year EvergreenHealth ranks among Healthgrades’ 100 Best™ hospitals for pulmonary care and for gastrointestinal care, and the fourth straight year of recognition for general surgery. It is also the third year in a row the health system earned the distinction for both critical care and stroke care.

“EvergreenHealth relentlessly pursues the best clinical outcomes as a part of our mission to deliver high quality, high value care to the community we serve,” said EvergreenHealth CEO Bob Malte. “We are proud to again be recognized among the best-performing hospitals in the country, and this success is a direct reflection of our providers’, staff members’ and volunteers’ shared commitment to quality, safety and exceptional service.”

EvergreenHealth is the only health system in Washington state to be named among the top five percent in the nation for neurosciences for three years in a row. The health system received the Healthgrades Stroke Care Excellence Award™ for the ninth consecutive year, as well.

Every year, Healthgrades analyzes three years of Medicare Provider Analysis and Review (MedPAR) data to produce a detailed report on mortality and complication rates, offering patients data-based resources to make informed healthcare decisions. For the 2018 report, approximately 45 million patient records were analyzed for nearly 4,500 short-term, acute care hospitals nationwide, assessing hospital performance relative to 32 common conditions and procedures. It identified the 100 best-performing hospitals across all conditions or procedures evaluated within ten clinical service areas.

To help consumers evaluate hospital performance specific to specialty service lines, Healthgrades recognizes a hospital’s quality achievements for cohort-specific performance, specialty area performance, and overall clinical quality. Individual procedure or condition cohorts are designated as five-star (statistically significantly better than expected), three-star (not statistically different from expected) and one-star (statistically significantly worse than expected) categories. The latest report demonstrates how clinical performance continues to differ dramatically between hospitals nationally, regionally and at the local level, and the impact that this variation may have on health outcomes.

Understanding personal risk can help patients take steps that may improve the likelihood of successful treatment and recovery. A patient receiving care at a one-star rated hospital is at much greater risk of suffering a complication or death than a similar patient receiving care at a five-star rated hospital for the same procedure. For example, from 2014-2016, if all hospitals as a group performed similarly to hospitals receiving five-stars as a group, on average 219,568 lives could potentially have been saved and 164,454 complications could potentially have been avoided. 

“Many consumers believe that hospital quality is standardized, though the reality is that clinical quality and outcomes at hospitals vary widely across the country,” said Brad Bowman, MD, Healthgrades, Chief Medical Officer. “The hospitals that have achieved the Healthgrades 100 Best specialty distinction have demonstrated a commitment to exceptional quality of care and can distinguish themselves to consumers seeking care at high-quality facilities.”

EvergreenHealth’s dedication to patient-focused care and services is reflected in its year-over-year track record of earning Healthgrades’ five-star ratings in multiple areas of treatment. The health system earned five-star ratings in the treatment of pneumonia for 13 years in a row, treatment of stroke and sepsis for nine consecutive years and the treatment of heart failure for eight years in a row, among others.

“EvergreenHealth has made numerous strides in clinical excellence by making innovative care solutions available to our patients,” says Malte. “We strive to provide the most advanced technologies, the safest environments and the most compassionate care to enrich the health and well-being of every life we touch.”

The complete Healthgrades 2018 Report to the Nation and detailed study methodology can be found atwww.healthgrades.com/quality.

For more information about EvergreenHealth’s commitment to quality and safety and exceptional care, visitwww.evergreenhealth.com.

A comprehensive list of EvergreenHealth’s 2018 Healthgrades recognitions include:

Gastrointestinal Care

Recipient of the Healthgrades Gastrointestinal Care Excellence Award™ for 5 Years in a Row (2014-2018)

Recipient of the Healthgrades General Surgery Excellence Award™ for 4 Years in a Row (2015-2018)

Named Among the Top 5% in the Nation for Overall GI Services for 5 Years in a Row (2014-2018)

Named Among the Top 5% in the Nation for General Surgery for 4 Years in a Row (2015-2018)

Five-Star Recipient for Small Intestine Surgeries for 3 Years in a Row (2016-2018)

Five-Star Recipient for Colorectal Surgeries for 5 Years in a Row (2014-2018)

Five-Star Recipient for Treatment of GI Bleed for 5 Years in a Row (2014-2018)

Five-Star Recipient for Treatment of Bowel Obstruction for 4 Years in a Row (2015-2018)

Pulmonary Care

• Recipient of the Healthgrades Pulmonary Care Excellence Award™ for 8 Years in a Row (2011-2018)
• Named Among the Top 5% in the Nation for Overall Pulmonary Services for 7 Years in a Row (2012-2018)
• Named Among the Top 10% in the Nation for Overall Pulmonary Services for 8 Years in a Row (2011-2018)
• Five-Star Recipient for Treatment of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease for 7 Years in a Row (2012-2018)
• Five-Star Recipient for Treatment of Pneumonia for 13 Years in a Row (2006-2018)

Critical Care

• Recipient of the Healthgrades Critical Care Excellence Award™ for 4 Years in a Row (2015-2018)
• Named Among the Top 5% in the Nation for Critical Care for 3 Years in a Row (2016-2018)
• Named Among the Top 10% in the Nation for Critical Care for 4 Years in a Row (2015-2018)
• Five-Star Recipient for Treatment of Sepsis for 9 Years in a Row (2010-2018)
• Five-Star Recipient for Treatment of Pulmonary Embolism for 4 Years in a Row (2015-2018)
• Five-Star Recipient for Treatment of Respiratory Failure for 3 Years in a Row (2016-2018)

Neurosciences

• Recipient of the Healthgrades Neurosciences Excellence Award™ for 3 Years in a Row (2016-2018)
• Recipient of the Healthgrades 2018 Cranial Neurosurgery Excellence Award™
• Recipient of the Healthgrades Stroke Care Excellence Award™ for 9 Years in a Row (2010-2018)
• Named Among the Top 5% in the Nation for Neurosciences for 3 Years in a Row (2016-2018)
• Named Among the Top 5% in the Nation for Treatment of Stroke for 3 Years in a Row (2016-2018)
• Named Among the Top 10% in the Nation for Cranial Neurosurgery in 2018
• Named Among the Top 10% in the Nation for Treatment of Stroke for 9 Years in a Row (2010-2018)
• Five-Star Recipient for Cranial Neurosurgery in 2018
• Five-Star Recipient for Treatment of Stroke for 9 Years in a Row (2010-2018)

*Only hospital in the state to receive this award nine years in a row.

Cardiac

• Five-Star Recipient for Treatment of Heart Attack for 4 Years in a Row (2015-2018)
• Five-Star Recipient for Treatment of Heart Failure for 8 Years in a Row (2011-2018)

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About EvergreenHealth

EvergreenHealth is an integrated health care system that serves nearly one million residents in King and Snohomish counties and offers a breadth of services and programs that is among the most comprehensive in the region. More than 1,000 physicians provide clinical excellence in over 80 specialties, including heart and vascular care, oncology, surgical care, orthopedics, neurosciences, women’s and children’s services, pulmonary care and home care and hospice services. Formed as a public hospital district in 1972, EvergreenHealth includes a 318-bed acute care medical center in Kirkland, a network of 12 primary care practices, two urgent care centers, over two dozen specialty care practices and 24/7 emergency care at its Kirkland, Monroe, and Redmond campuses. In 2015, the system expanded to include EvergreenHealth Monroe – an accredited, full-service 74-bed public hospital district, established in 1960 in Monroe, Washington. EvergreenHealth has clinical and strategic partnerships with several health care entities, including Overlake Medical Center, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and dozens of independent practices that are part of the clinically integrated Eastside Health Network and the Puget Sound High Value Network. In addition to clinical care, EvergreenHealth offers extensive community health outreach and education programs, anchored by the 24/7 EvergreenHealth Nurse Navigator & Healthline.

In 2016, EvergreenHealth achieved its eighth designation in the last nine years (2009-2012, and 2014-2017) as a Distinguished Hospital for Clinical Excellence from Healthgrades®, and in 2017 it was named one of Healthgrades 2017 America’s 100 Best Hospitals placing it among the top 2 percent of hospitals nationwide, based on its outstanding clinical performance. EvergreenHealth was also named one of the nation’s 100 Top Hospitals® by Truven Health Analytics™ in the “Large Community Hospitals” category for outstanding achievements in patient care, operational efficiency and financial strength, two years in a row. For more information, visit www.evergreenhealth.com.