Strong clinical performance, patient experience cited

For more information, please contact:

Lynn Sadoff, Sr. Public Relations and Communications Specialist
651-326-3590 office
651-864-1023 pager 

(ST. PAUL, MN - August 13, 2010) – HealthEast Care System announced today that it has been named among the top 50 U.S. health systems. That's according to a new study by Thomson Reuters  and based on hospital clinical performance and how well the hospitals take care of their patients.

 The study evaluated 255 health systems on the following key performance measures:

• Risk-adjusted mortality index
• Risk-adjusted complications index
• Risk-adjusted patient safety index
• Core measures mean percent
• 30-day risk-adjusted mortality rate
• 30-day risk-adjusted readmission rate
• Severity-adjusted average length of stay
• HCAHPS score (patient rating of overall hospital performance)                        

These measures set the bar for exceptional performance when it comes to following standards of care more closely, saving more lives, reducing patient complications, making fewer safety errors and earning better overall patient satisfaction scores.

To qualify, a health system must have at least two short-term, general acute care hospitals. HealthEast Care System has three short-term, general acute care hospitals (St. John’s Hospital in Maplewood, St. Joseph’s Hospital in St. Paul and Woodwinds Health Campus in Woodbury) in addition to one long-term acute care facility (Bethesda Hospital in St. Paul).

The study included nearly every system with valid 2007 and 2008 Medicare Provider Analysis and Review (MedPAR) and 2009 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospital Compare data.

Craig Svendsen, MD, Chief Medical Quality Officer for HealthEast Care System, said “We're extremely pleased to be recognized as one of the top 50 health systems in the country based on our clinical performance. These measurements are based on data from 2007-2009 and we know our quality measurements are even better today. This honor is especially rewarding, since it's based on our day-in and day-out performances, along with our quality improvement efforts. The real winners, however, are our patients, who receive quality care and trust us for their health care needs. That trust moves us to continue driving high quality in all that we do.”

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 HealthEast Care System is a community-focused, non-profit health care organization that provides innovative technology, compassionate care and a full spectrum of family health services. HealthEast includes Bethesda Hospital, St. John’s Hospital, St. Joseph’s Hospital, and Woodwinds Health Campus as well as outpatient services, clinics, home care, and medical transportation services.  Practicing financial responsibility, HealthEast is the largest, locally-owned health care organization in the Twin Cities’ East Metro with 7,300 employees, 1,200 volunteers and 1,400 physicians on staff.