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TOMS RIVER, NJ, FEBRUARY 23, 2009 – Community Medical
Center announced that it has received the Orthopedic Surgery Excellence
Award for its quality of orthopedic care by HealthGrades, the leading
independent healthcare ratings company. This is the fourth
year in a row that Community Medical Center has received this award
for being ranked 10% in the nation for overall orthopedic services.
Community Medical Center has also received five-star ratings in
total knee replacement, hip fracture repair, and back and neck
surgery with spinal fusion.
Mark D. Pilla, Executive Vice President of Operations for the
Saint Barnabas Health Care System and Executive Director of Community
Medical Center, said, “Being listed in the top ten percent
in the nation for orthopedic care is an outstanding accomplishment
for Community Medical Center, for which I am extremely proud. Our
staff and physicians are committed to producing superior outcomes
for our orthopedic patients. Being recognized by HealthGrades is
a testament to their dedication.”
As part of the nation’s most comprehensive, independent
analysis of hospital quality, HealthGrades found that patients
treated at five-star rated hospitals for nine common procedures
are 47 percent less likely to experience a major complication,
such as post-operative infections or heart conditions, which can
lengthen their hospital stay and increase costs. According
to the study, if all Medicare patients had been treated at a top-performing
hospital compared to the lowest-performing hospitals during 2005-07,
more than 123,000 major complications potentially could have been
avoided.
Pilla said, “Our orthopedic specialists are among the best
in the region to be trained in minimally invasive surgical procedures.
We are dedicated to providing the most sophisticated orthopedic
care so our patients can enjoy a quick and comfortable recovery.”
As part of that effort, the hospital opened a Joint Institute
in 2008 and a Spine Institute in 2009. These institutes offer comprehensive
care for patients undergoing hip and knee replacements, as well
as spine surgery. The Institutes, located inside the hospital,
allow patients to stay close to home, friends and family without
the need to travel away from the area for this level of care.
The Institutes offer fully-integrated teams of health care professionals
including orthopedic surgeons and neurologists, specially trained
nurses, physical and occupational therapists, and a home health
staff dedicated to getting patients home after surgery instead
of going to a rehabilitation center.
In developing its 2009 healthcare quality ratings, released today,
HealthGrades analyzed more than 41 million Medicare hospitalization
records from 2005 to 2007 at the nation’s approximately 5,000
non-federal hospitals.
Hospitals with outcomes that are above average to a statistically
significant degree receive a five-star rating. Hospitals with average
outcomes receive a three-star rating, and hospitals with outcomes
that are below average receive a one-star rating. Because no two
hospitals or their patients’ risk profiles are alike, HealthGrades
employs extensive risk-adjustment algorithms to ensure that it
is making analogous comparisons.
On its Web site, www.healthgrades.com,
HealthGrades offers consumers free quality ratings of 26 procedures
and treatments. The Web site is designed so that consumers can
easily compare patient outcomes at their local hospitals for procedures
ranging from total knee surgery to cardiac bypass surgery. Each
hospital receives a star rating based on its patient outcomes in
terms of mortality or complication rates for each procedure or
treatment. For example, complications can include hospital-acquired
infections, heart and lung difficulties during or after surgery,
and excessive bleeding.
For more information on Community Medical Center or its orthopedic
programs, services and physicians, call 1-888-724-7123 or visit
www.barnabashealth.org.
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