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Two area hospitals rank among the top hospitals in the nation for certain types of treatment, according to the 2009 HealthGrades reports released recently. "The great news for the Beaufort area is that they really have quality health care," said Lauren Galloway, a consultant for HealthGrades, which is one of the most widely used evaluators of hospitals nationwide. HealthGrades evaluates all hospitals. Hospitals cannot opt out.
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Beaufort Memorial Hospital is among the top 10 percent of the nation's hospitals for spine surgery and also received a five-star rating for orthopedic care.
However, it received one star, a poor rating, for treatment of gastrointestinal bleeding, or internal bleeding in the digestive tract.
Hilton Head Hospital received a five-star rating for treatment of gastrointestinal bleeding and gastrointestinal surgeries and is also in the top 5 percent in the country. It received a one-star rating for in-hospital cardiac heart failures but five stars for heart attack care when patient records were examined six months after they were released from the hospital.
HealthGrades, an independent Colorado-based company, examined 41 million patient records from 2005 to 2008 based on 28 diagnoses and procedures monitored by Medicare, the only national data set recorded in the same way, according to the company's Web site.
Galloway said the evaluations released Wednesday reflect existing patient conditions, such as diabetes, and the number of patients treated that could affect statistics. She also noted those procedures without rankings did not have enough patients to register.
The rankings, available on the company’s Web site, are organized by procedure. For example, patients can search for hospitals that provide knee replacements in the Charleston area. And because the evaluations are based on procedure and compare area hospitals, patients can use the information to make better decisions about where to have a procedure done, Galloway said.
Hospitals also use the evaluations to determine areas in which they are doing well and areas in which improvement is needed. Beaufort Memorial spokeswoman Courtney McDermott said the hospital uses the evaluations to review treatment and evaluate performance.
"I think it's really important that consumers have access to this information," McDermott said. "On the hospital side, it's all about quality. Even if you are a five-star, it doesn’t mean your work is done. How do we make sure we keep doing the right thing."
Hilton Head Hospital CEO Elizabeth Lamkin said the hospital uses the evaluations to measure its quality and, if there is an area for improvement, for guidance. She also said the evaluations benefit consumers or patients by creating transparency in health care.
"But one thing I'd say for the consumer is you can't just take a report like this and extrapolate for the whole hospital," she said. "You have to look at specific procedures."
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