St. Luke's recognized as a Top 100 Hospital for the fourth time
St. Luke’s Hospital is one of only two hospitals in the state named one of the nation's 100 Top Hospitals by Thomson Reuters, the nation's leading source of healthcare information. The award recognizes hospitals that have achieved excellence in quality of care, operational efficiency, financial performance and growth. This is the fourth time St. Luke’s has received this distinction. According to Thomson Reuters, it is difficult to be selected as a national benchmark hospital every year. Research has shown hospitals that win this award three or more times have particularly high levels of performance over many years.
The 100 Top Hospitals: National Benchmarks study evaluated nearly 3,000 acute care, non-federal hospitals, including St. Luke’s, in 10 areas: mortality, medical complications, patient safety, average length of stay, expenses, profitability, patient satisfaction, adherence to clinical standards of care, and post-discharge mortality and readmission rates for acute heart attacks, heart failure and pneumonia. The study has been conducted annually since 1993. The study then compared St. Luke’s performance against similarly-sized hospitals across the country. Hospitals do not apply, pay for, or complete a survey to receive this award.
“We are fortunate to have such exceptional medical staff, nurses and support staff who collaborate to continuously improve patient care,” said Ted Townsend, St. Luke’s president and CEO. “Being a four-time winner of this prestigious award is a reflection of the commitment, skill and experience of the healthcare providers, nurses and staff working at St. Luke’s.”
The study also found that if all Medicare inpatients throughout the country received the same level of care as those treated in these 100 Top Hospitals award winners, including St. Luke’s, then:
- More than 186,000 additional lives could be saved.
- Approximately 56,000 additional patients could be complication-free.
- More than $4.3 billion could be saved.
- The average patient stay would decrease by nearly half a day.
If the same standards were applied to all inpatients, the impact would be even greater.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How many hospitals are evaluated for the award?
A: The study evaluated nearly 3,000 acute care, non-federal hospitals- including St. Luke’s- in 10 areas: mortality, medical complications, patient safety, length of stay, expenses, profitability, patient satisfaction, standards of care, and post-discharge mortality and readmission rates for heart attacks, heart failure and pneumonia. The study then compared St. Luke’s performance against similarly-sized hospitals across the country.
Q: Why is the award so important to eastern Iowans?
A: Having a 100 Top Hospitals award-winner in the community means:
-Patients are measurably less likely to have a complication, experience adverse safety issues, die unnecessarily, or be readmitted.
-Patients are more likely to receive efficient care at a reasonable cost.
-The community can rely on the hospital as a well-managed major employer that will continue to invest in technology and services that the community needs.
Q: Who performs the evaluations for the award and why?
A: Thomson Reuters is a global healthcare company that performs the objective study at its own expense, using only public Medicare patient data. Hospitals do not apply for, pay for, or complete an application to win the award.
Q: Why is it so difficult to win the award?
The award uses statistical information to select the top performers. Award winners must perform well across many measures.
Q: Where can I learn more about the award?
A: Read more about the 100 Top Hospitals award at http://www.100tophospitals.com/top-national-hospitals/ to read the entire 100 Top Hospitals: National Benchmarks study.
