Washington County Hospital has been named a Solucient 100 Top Hospitals® for 2002.
The annual award recognizes short-term, acute care hospitals that have achieved overall top performance in eight categories. Washington County Hospital also received this award in 1997, 1998, and 2000; plus its orthopedic program was recognized in 1999.
“We are very proud of this recognition because it reflects the hard work and dedication to caring that has been the hallmark of Washington County Hospital since it was founded almost 100 years ago,” noted James Hamill, president and CEO of Washington County Health System. “This distinction belongs to everyone who has a role in our organization including board members, medical staff, employees, volunteers, donors, and even our vendors. It takes a team effort to achieve an award of this significance, especially four times.”
Washington County Hospital has been placed in an elite group, called “the best of the best” by Solucient’s executive director of the 100 Top Hospitals program, Jean Chenowith. It was one of only 68 hospitals to receive the award four or more times in the last ten years. Washington County Hospital was also the only one in its category—large community hospitals—to win it four or more times between here and Florida.Solucient analyzed data in eight categories from 6,000 hospitals and 12 million patients to determine those organizations that would make the 100 Top Hospital list. It used data from the 2001 Medicare Cost Report, which covers all payer types as well as the 2001 and 2002 Medicare Provider Analysis and Review. Solucient benchmarked hospitals that measured both clinical outcomes and wise use of organizational resources.
According to Ms. Chenowith, the hospitals recognized “treat sicker patients and yet have higher survival rates and shorter lengths of stay.” In the large community hospital category, hospitals that received the award had a 16.2 percent lower mortality rate than their peers, 9.2 percent fewer complications, and 11.3 percent shorter average lengths of stay. Benchmark hospitals in the same category also had 13 percent lower expenses, 7.6 percent higher profits, and 2.4 percent higher outpatient revenue.
After comparing the benchmark hospitals with all other hospitals in the survey, Solucient reported that if all acute care hospitals performed at the same level as the 100 Top Hospitals, then 84,374 more Medicare patients would survive each year and there would be 53,500 fewer complications.In a supplement to the September 29, 2003 issue of Modern Healthcare, Solucient noted that hospitals receiving the award constantly reviewed clinical and financial performance, using data analysis and process improvement activities.
The 100 Top Hospitals are also early adopters of the industry’s best practices by using product-line management, patient satisfaction tools, and clinical pathways to guide care.Solucient is a healthcare business intelligence company based in Evanston, Illinois.
