Easton Hospital Named One of America's 50 Best Hospitals for Fourth Year in a Row

EASTON, Pa., June 28, 2010 – Easton Hospital has been recognized by HealthGrades®,  the nation’s leading independent healthcare ratings organization, as being in the top one percent of hospitals in the nation for quality outcomes, for the fourth year in a row. 

The designation is based solely on clinical outcomes, such as mortality complication rates, at each of the nation’s nearly 5,000 non-government hospitals. Hospitals cannot opt in or out of this independent analysis. 

HealthGrades studied millions of Medicare hospitalization records from 1999 through 2008 across 26 procedures and conditions from hip replacement to bypass surgery.  According to HealthGrades, patients admitted to an America’s 50 Best Hospital is more likely to have successful treatment without major complications.  

“The HealthGrades America’s 50 Best Hospitals have demonstrated clinical outcomes that are the best in the nation, and they have sustained that level of quality year in and year out,” said Rick May, MD, a HealthGrades vice president and one of the study’s authors. “That indicates that these hospitals have leadership, operational structures and clinical teams that are capable of producing excellence in a way that others cannot. These hospitals should be congratulated, and those in their community should feel proud of the quality of care being delivered.” 

According to HealthGrades’ statistics, patients treated at a hospital receiving the Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence are, on average, 27% less likely to face in-hospital mortality, and 8% less likely to suffer from an in-hospital complication than those treated at other hospitals. 

Easton Hospital CEO Aaron Hazzard expressed satisfaction with the recognition. ”We are thrilled the data once again shows that we are delivering care in the top 1% of overall quality among all US hospitals.  It is very gratifying to have independent validation of what we at Easton Hospital know – great care is delivered here every day by our outstanding medical staff and talented and dedicated employees. We proudly share this honor widely with all of the healthcare professionals and support staff that work at Easton and thank them for all that they do to provide excellent patient care.” 

In a separate report issued last fall, Easton Hospital received recognition from HealthGrades in the following clinical specialty areas:

·         Pulmonary Care Excellence Award™ for the third year in a row

·         Critical Care Excellence Award™  for the second year in a row

·         Cardiac Surgery Excellence Award™

·         Women’s Health Excellence Award™

Easton Hospital is a full service 254-bed acute care hospital serving the Lehigh Valley and neighboring New Jersey. The hospital offers an Emergency Department with a certified chest pain center; an active cardiac surgery program; and its Easton Regional Cancer Center is a Partner of the nationally-renowned Fox Chase Cancer Center. Easton Hospital is active in medical education, and supports fully-accredited residency training programs in surgery and internal medicine.