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Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Franciscan St. Francis Health recognized for quality clinical outcomes

Report says hospitals also rank high nationally in patient safety, patient experience

INDIANAPOLIS – Franciscan St. Francis Health’s hospitals in Indianapolis and Mooresville have been recognized for clinical excellence by Healthgrades, an online resource which helps consumers search, compare and connect with physicians and hospitals.

Specifically, the two Franciscan St. Francis hospitals were lauded for patient safety and with both facilities ranking among the Top 5 percent in the Nation for Patient Safety, according to Healthgrades. 
 
Franciscan St. Francis in Indianapolis was also recently announced as recipient of the Healthgrades Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence for the 3rd consecutive year (2012-2014), placing the hospital among the Top 5 percent of hospitals in the nation for overall care.  Franciscan St. Francis in Indianapolis is also the only hospital in Indiana recognized by Healthgrades as a national leader for Overall Clinical Excellence, Patient Safety, and Patient Experience. 

This achievement and other new findings in American Hospital Quality Outcomes 2014: Healthgrades Report to the Nation, which evaluates hospital performance at more than 4,500 hospitals nationwide for 31 of the most common inpatient procedures and conditions.

“Our physicians, surgeons, nurses and support staff continually work to improve clinical processes while using their extensive knowledge, experience and skills to ensure better outcomes and superior care for our patients,” said Robert. J. Brody, president and chief executive officer for Franciscan St. Francis. “Their hard work has resulted in this national recognition.”

The new report highlights the disparity in hospital performance for specific conditions and procedures and the impact that this variation may have on health outcomes. For example, from 2010-2012, if all hospitals as a group, performed similarly to hospitals receiving 5-stars as a group, on average 234,252 lives could potentially have been saved and 157,418 complications could potentially have been avoided.

A 5-star rating indicates that Franciscan St. Francis Health’s hospitals achieved clinical outcomes that are better than expected when treating the condition or conducting the procedure being evaluated.

 “As American policy-makers focus more intently on ways to lower healthcare costs and improve quality, patients are being asked to assume more responsibility for their healthcare decisions – from selection of their health plan to the associated network of physicians and hospitals,” said Evan Marks, executive vice president of strategy and informatics. “Since all hospitals do not perform equally in all procedures, patients can have confidence that by selecting a physician associated with a hospital that has achieved recognition by Healthgrades, they can potentially improve outcomes and reduce costs.”

Franciscan St. Francis Health’s achievement comes in the wake of other accolades from Healthgrades.

Last October, the Indianapolis and Mooresville hospitals were recognized for clinical excellence in a variety of patient care and medical specialties and rated among the nation’s top 5 percent for clinical outcomes in Cardiac Services. Read more here.

More information on the American Hospital Quality Outcomes 2014: Healthgrades Report to the Nation, including the complete methodology, can be found at www.healthgrades.com/quality.