Brighton, MA  – St. Elizabeth's Medical Center today announced that it has received the 2015 Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence™ according to Healthgrades, the leading online resource for comprehensive information about physicians and hospitals. The distinction places St. Elizabeth's Medical Center in the top five percent of the more than 4,500 hospitals evaluated nationwide based solely on its outstanding clinical performance. 

“We are extremely proud to receive this award as it reflects the dedication and commitment to excellence of St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center staff across the board,” said Dr. Roger D. Mitty, interim president of St. E’s. “Every day we work hard to provide the highest quality of care to our patients for the best clinical outcomes and it is rewarding to see our efforts recognized.”

In the past year, St. Elizabeth’s has implemented several new programs and procedures to enhance its clinical programs and promote outstanding clinical performance. Some of those measures include:

• Development and implementation of  comprehensive guidelines for credentialing robotic surgeons, promoting safe use of advanced technology
• Upgrading our robotic surgery technology and equipment to incorporate the latest advances
• Opened a new, state-of-the-art Intensive Care Unit, providing staff and patients with the most modern amenities to treat critical illness
• Expedited Admissions Protocol to begin evaluation and treatment more quickly, often saving hours.

St. Elizabeth’s also implemented an evidence-based blood transfusion protocol resulting in significantly fewer blood transfusions for our patients over the past year, reducing risk of transfusion related complications. The medical center also developed a protocol which streamlines the process for emergency life-saving transfusions in cases of acute and severe hemorrhage and also implemented an enhanced Palliative Care program.

From 2011 through 2013, Healthgrades Distinguished Hospitals for Clinical Excellence, as a group, had a 27.7% lower risk adjusted mortality rate across 19 procedures and conditions where in-hospital mortality was the clinical outcome, compared to all other hospitals.  During this same period, if all other hospitals performed at the level of Distinguished Hospitals for Clinical Excellence across these 19 procedures and conditions, 163,488 lives could potentially have been saved.  For example, patients treated at a hospital that achieved the Distinguished Hospital for Clinical Excellence Award had, on average, a 26.6% lower risk of dying from a stroke than if treated at a hospital that did not receive the award.

Variation in hospital performance exists locally as well as nationally. For example, of the 37 hospitals evaluated located in the Boston, MA area for treatment of Heart Attack, risk-adjusted in-hospital mortality rates ranged from 2.2% on the low end to 10.6% on the high end, which is more than a 4-fold difference in mortality rates.

“Consumers today are assuming more and more responsibility for healthcare decisions and are increasingly relying on objective measures of quality to inform their selection of hospitals and physicians,” said Evan Marks, Chief Strategy Officer, Healthgrades.  “It is important for consumers to understand the variability in the nation’s hospitals so that they can make more informed choices. By selecting a hospital that has achieved the Healthgrades Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence, consumers can be confident that this hospital has demonstrated a long-standing commitment to exceptional clinical quality care.”

St. Elizabeth’s was also recently recognized by Healthgrades with numerous awards for its Cardiac Care, including being named:

• Healthgrades America's 100 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Care™ 2015
• Healthgrades America's 100 Best Hospitals for Coronary Intervention™ for 2015
• Healthgrades Cardiac Care Excellence Award™ for 3 Years in a Row (2013, 2014, 2015)
• Healthgrades Coronary Intervention Excellence Award™ for 3 Years in a Row (2013, 2014, 2015)
• Ranked Among the Top 5% in the Nation for Overall Cardiac Services 2015
• Ranked Among the Top 5% in the Nation for Coronary Interventional Procedures for 2 Years in a Row (2014,  2015)
• Five-Star Recipient for Coronary Interventional Procedures for 3 Years in a Row (2013, 2014, 2015)

Patient Safety

• Healthgrades Patient Safety Excellence Award™ 2014
• Ranked Among the Top 10% in the Nation for Patient Safety 2014

The 261 recipients of the Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence™ stand out among the rest for overall clinical excellence across a broad spectrum of care. During the 2015 study period (2011-2013), these hospitals showed superior performance in clinical outcomes for patients in the Medicare population across at least 21 of 32 of the most common inpatient conditions and procedures —as measured by objective clinical outcomes performance data (risk-adjusted mortality and in-hospital complications). To learn more about how Healthgrades determines Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence™ recipients, please visit www.healthgrades.com/quality.

About St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center
St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center is a major academic medical center affiliated with Tufts University School of Medicine.  Areas of medical excellence include vascular and endovascular surgery, cardiology, neurosciences, general and robotic surgery, bariatric surgery, women’s health, high-risk obstetrics, bone and joint health, hematology/oncology, pulmonary medicine and emergency medicine.  St. Elizabeth’s is a member of Steward Health Care, which is the second largest health care system in New England.  Visit St. Elizabeth’s online at www.semc.org

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