Study Shows East Jefferson General Hospital Among Top 5% in the Nation for Cardiac Surgery and #1 in the State of Louisiana

Clinical outcomes also place EJGH in the top 10% in the nation for Pulmonary Services

Metairie, LA - October 15, 2007 -- According to the Tenth Annual HealthGrades Hospital Quality in America Study issued today, East Jefferson General Hospital ranks among the tops in the Nation for Cardiac Surgery and Pulmonary Services. The study, the largest of its kind, analyzed patient outcomes at virtually all of the nation's 5,000 hospitals over the years 2004, 2005 and 2006.

The study found that East Jefferson General Hospital is Five Star Rated for Cardiac Surgery and the Recipient of the HealthGrades Specialty Excellence Award for both Cardiac Surgery and Pulmonary Services. This study places them in the top 5% in the nation and ranks them #1 in the State of Louisiana for the hospital’s Cardiac Surgery Services.

In addition, East Jefferson rated the best in Region for overall Pulmonary Services, and Five Star Rated for COPD and Community Acquired Pneumonia.  This rates EJGH among the top 10% of the nation’s hospitals.

“We are excited to be recognized as one of the best hospitals in the country,” says Dr. Mark Peters, EJGH President and CEO.  “Having an independent organization such as HealthGrades rate our services this highly shows that the care we provide to this community measures up against any hospital in the country.  We are proud of these awards and believe that it is a tremendous honor for our organization and for our physicians and staff.”

The Tenth Annual HealthGrades Hospital Quality in America Study identifies key trends in the quality of hospital-based care.  HealthGrades researchers analyzed Medicare discharges from virtually every U.S. hospital between 2004 and 2006. Risk-adjusted mortality and complication rates were calculated and hospitals were assigned a 1-star (poor), 3-star (as expected), or 5-star (best) quality rating for 28 diagnoses and procedures from heart failure to hip replacement to pneumonia.

“Consumers routinely use quality ratings to comparison shop for cars, appliances and travel accommodations,” said Sarah Loughran, HealthGrades executive vice president. “Our research provides patients with the information they need to make informed decisions about where to seek medical care, a decision that could mean the difference between life and death.”

“It is important for residents to know that they can find high-quality care at East Jefferson General Hospital,” Loughran added.

Among the study’s key findings:

• Gaps persist between the “best” and the “worst” hospitals across all procedures and conditions studied. Five-star rated hospitals had statistically significantly lower risk-adjusted mortality across all three years studied.
  
  
• Across all procedures and conditions studied, there was an approximate 71 percent lower chance of dying in a 5-star rated hospital compared to a 1-star rated hospital.
  
  
• Across all procedures and conditions studied, there was an approximate 52 percent lower chance of dying in a 5-star rated hospital compared to the U.S. hospital average.

The 2008 HealthGrades ratings for all hospitals nationwide are available, free of charge, on the organization’s award-winning consumer Web site.  More than three million individuals and employees of some of the nation’s largest employers and health plans visit HealthGrades each month to access quality information about hospitals, nursing homes and physicians. HealthGrades also provides consumers and payers with detailed assessments of hospitals’ patient-safety outcomes, based on indicators developed by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

East Jefferson General Hospital, Louisiana’s first Nurse Magnet hospital, is a publicly owned, not-for-profit, community hospital providing high quality care to the residents of the East Bank of Jefferson Parish and surrounding communities. East Jefferson General opened in 1971. For more information on HealthGrades ratings, please click here..