Augusta Health has received the Healthgrades 2019 America’s 50 Best Hospitals Award™. This is the fifth consecutive year that Augusta Health has been awarded this recognition for clinical quality.
This recognition places Augusta Health among the top 1% of more than 4,500 hospitals assessed nationwide for its consistent, year-over-year superior clinical performance as measured by Healthgrades, the leading online resource for comprehensive information about physicians and hospitals.
The America’s 50 Best Hospitals Award was presented to physicians, Board and staff by Healthgrades on Thursday, February 14, during Augusta Health’s quarterly Values Celebration.
“Because this award recognizes overall clinical quality, it is a great reflection of the excellent care that our medical staff and employees provide to the community. It demonstrates more than expertise; it represents the teamwork and professionalism required to deliver very high-quality care,” said Mary N. Mannix, FACHE, President and CEO of Augusta Health. “Over the past five years, Augusta Health has been developing the depth and breadth of our clinical expertise. Clinically, we can now provide almost all of the procedures and care that patients in our community may ever need. As we’ve increased the complexity of the procedures we can perform, we’ve maintained this superior clinical excellence. That’s incredibly important to our patients.”
Augusta Health is one of two hospitals in Virginia to receive the American 50 Best Hospitals Award this year, and the only hospital in the Shenandoah Valley to receive it.
“The professional clinical teams—physicians, nurses, therapists and technicians—are very visible to patients and families. They do an outstanding job,” added Mannix. “Just as important are the hundreds of other employees who are not always noticed—those in environmental services, nutrition services, maintenance, human resources, registration and every other department. All of these people who work together as team to provide our patients with the best care and outcomes.”
According to Healthgrades analysis, from 2015 through 2017, patients treated in hospitals that achieved the America’s 50 Best Hospitals Award had, on average, had a 27.1% lower risk of dying than if they were treated in hospitals that did not received the award, as measured across 19 rated conditions and procedures where mortality is the outcome.* During the 2019 study period (2015-2017), 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 performance data (risk-adjusted mortality and in-hospital complications).
Quality of care and continuous quality improvement is a focus of every employee at Augusta Health. In October, 2018, the hospital was named the Health Quality Innovator of the Year for Data-Driven Care by Health Quality Innovators for its inventive use of information and technology to reduce sepsis mortality. Hospital staff also developed and implemented the What’s UP? campaign to improve patient outcomes by focuses on four basic interventions for clinicians: Soap Up (hand-washing), Wake Up (reducing unnecessary sleepiness and sedation), Get Up (mobilizing patients appropriately) and Speak Up (talking about safety concerns).
Along with the America’s 50 Best Hospitals Award, Augusta Health was recognized with the 2019 Pulmonary Care Excellence Award and Five-Star Distinctions in treatment of Heart Failure, Pacemaker Procedures and treatment of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in 2019.
“Healthgrades congratulates the recipients of the America’s 50 Best Hospitals Award for their proven commitment to exceptional care,” said Brad Bowman, Chief Medical Officer at Healthgrades. “Our analysis shows that care quality can vary significantly between hospitals, but consumers can use sources like Healthgrades to research and select the best hospital for their care.”
To learn more about how Healthgrades determines award recipients, please visit www.healthgrades.com/quality.
Augusta Health is an independent, community-owned, not-for-profit hospital whose mission is to promote the health and well-being of its community through access to excellent care. Augusta Health has been nationally recognized by HealthGrades as one of America’s 50 Best Hospitals for clinical excellence for five consecutive years. For more information about Augusta Health, its programs or its services, please visit the website, www.augustahealth.com.
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Chris Graham
