Boca Raton Community Hospital Ranked Top Five Percent in Nation According to Quality Study

Boca Raton Community Hospital is ranked top 5% in the nation according to a new study in clinical quality. The study by HealthGrades, the leading independent healthcare ratings organization, analyzed patient outcomes at each of the nation’s 5,000 nonfederal hospitals over the years 2006, 2007 and 2008 and named hospitals in the top five percent as HealthGrades Distinguished Hospitals for Clinical Excellence™.

This latest accolade for Boca Raton Community Hospital adds to a growing list of honors. In addition to the Distinguished Hospital Award, HealthGrades has ranked the institution in 2010:

• #1 in Florida for Cardiac Surgery
• #2 in Florida for the treatment of stroke
• #3 in Florida for overall cardiac services
• #1 in Florida for gastrointestinal medical treatment.

 “This is yet another reflection of how our institution is redefining community medicine,” said Jerry J. Fedele, President and Chief Executive Officer at Boca Raton Community Hospital. “The HealthGrades rankings are strong testimony to the quality of care found throughout our spectrum of services and programs.”

According to the eighth annual HealthGrades Hospital Quality and Clinical Excellence study, Boca Raton Community Hospital and the other hospitals in the top 5% demonstrated patient outcomes that far exceeded those of other hospitals. Patients admitted to these hospitals had risk-adjusted mortality rates that were, on average, 29% lower than all other hospitals. Risk-adjusted complication rates were, on average, 9% lower than all other hospitals.

Boca Raton Community Hospital is one of only 269 hospitals that received this distinction from HealthGrades and one of 68 hospitals in the country to receive this award for six years in a row.

“Our data show that only a select few hospitals achieve high-quality patient outcomes not just in a few categories of care, but across the board and over time,” said Rick May, MD, a vice president with HealthGrades and an author of the study. “Patients in communities with a Distinguished Hospital for Clinical Excellence should feel proud of the hospital’s accomplishments, and confident that the level of care there is among the very best in the nation.”

The study states: “Patients who choose to receive their care at a Distinguished Hospital for Clinical Excellence certainly will have a lower risk for an adverse clinical outcome relative to all other hospitals.”

As a group, Boca Raton Community Hospital and those identified as being in the top 5% in the nation improved their mortality rates at a faster pace than all other hospitals. Over the years 2006, 2007 and 2008, the HealthGrades study found that Distinguished Hospitals for Clinical Excellence lowered their risk-adjusted mortality rates over the three years by an average of 14%, compared with a 10% average improvement of all other hospitals. 

Editor’s note: 
A full copy of the study is available at http://www.healthgrades.com or by contacting Scott Shapiro at sshapiro@healthgrades.com.