Patients admitted to top ER's have 40% lower death rate

Boca Raton Regional among top 5% for emergency medicine

SouthFloridaSunrise.com Staff report

February 21--A report released today by HealthGrades, the leading provider of information to help consumers make an informed decision about a physician or hospital, named Boca Raton Regional Hospital among the top five percent in the nation for emergency medicine, and a recipient of the HealthGrades Emergency Medicine Excellence Award for the third consecutive year (2010-2012).

The findings are based on an analysis of more than seven million Medicare patient records from 2008 to 2010. HealthGrades Emergency Medicine in American Hospitals report focused on 12 of the most common and life-threatening medical emergencies among that patient population, including heart attack, stroke, pneumonia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD.

“We are extremely proud of receiving the HealthGrades Emergency Medicine Excellence Award, marking the third year in a row that we have received this honor,” said Jerry Fedele, President & Chief Executive Officer of Boca Regional. “We believe it is a strong testimony to both the quality of medicine we provide at the Wold Family Center for Emergency Medicine, as well as to the outstanding partnerships we have with our local EMS.”

“It is imperative that anyone experiencing a medical emergency go directly to the closest hospital, especially in the event of a heart attack or stroke,” said Dr. Arshad Rahim, report author and Director of Accelerated Clinical Excellence at HealthGrades.  “With that said, our findings show the care you receive once admitted to the hospital can also make the difference between life and death. We encourage all patients to educate themselves about the quality of emergency medical providers in their area and to choose a top performing hospital whenever there is a choice.”

Other key findings of the HealthGrades report include:

Medicare patients treated at hospitals recognized with a HealthGrades Emergency Medicine Excellence Award had, on average, a 41.52% lower risk of death compared to patients treated at non-recipient hospitals.

If all hospitals performed at the level of the Emergency Medicine Excellence hospitals from 2008 through 2010, an additional 170,856 people could have potentially survived their emergency hospitalization.

Besides the Emergency Medicine Excellence Award, the Hospital has been named HealthGrades Distinguished Hospital for Clinical Excellence™ for the eighth year in a row. In addition, the Hospital is the recipient of HealthGrades 2012 Best 100 Hospitals in the Nation for: Cardiac Care, Stroke Care, Gastrointestinal Care, General Surgery and Prostatectomy in an analysis of patient outcomes at each of the nation’s 5,000 nonfederal hospitals.