HealthGrades Study Finds Patients Treated at 5-Star Hospitals Are
80 Percent Less Likely to Experience a Major Complication

(October 29, 2010) Sellersville, PA – HealthGrades’ annual study released today that joint replacement at Grand View Hospital is 5-star rated for the second straight year. HealthGrades, the nation’s leading independent ratings organization, evaluates patient outcomes for 5,000 hospitals. This research is the only comprehensive analysis based solely on patient mortality and complication rates.

The study showed that Grand View Hospital is the only hospital in Bucks and Montgomery counties in PA to be 5-star rated in joint replacement for two straight years. Grand View was also 5-star rated in the following:

• Total Knee Replacement for the Second Straight Year (2010-2011)

“We’ve worked hard to assemble an experienced team right in our community to provide the advanced joint replacement procedures and technologies patients want,” says director of joint replacement at Grand View, Paul Weidner, MD, Upper Buck Orthopaedics. “We also provide each patient with a personalized joint replacement care plan and offer all the related education, therapy, and rehabilitation close to home.”

The HealthGrades study, the largest annual report of its kind, analyzed patient outcomes in nearly 40 million Medicare hospitalization records from the years 2007, 2008, and 2009. Among the findings related to in-hospital complications in this year’s study are:

• Across all procedures in which complications were studied, there was an 80 percent lower chance of experiencing one or more complications in a 5-star rated hospital compared to a 1-star rated hospital.
• Across all procedures studied, there was a 63 percent lower chance of experiencing one or more in-hospital complications in a 5-star rated hospital compared to the U.S. hospital average.
• If all hospitals performed at the level of a 5-star rated hospital, 185,875 in-hospital complications may have been avoided among Medicare patients over the three years studied.

“We’re proud to be home to the area's only dedicated Joint Replacement Center, offering comprehensive joint replacement services close to home,” says Darla Weaver, vice president of quality and a patient safety officer at the hospital. “Our team is focused on helping patients return to a more active lifestyle. This 5-star rating is an indicator of our team’s quality and commitment to our patients.”

HealthGrades’ studies respond to the public’s demand for increased public reporting of quality measures, and support recent government reform efforts. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, more than 40 percent of adults report that they believe there are major differences in hospital quality in their immediate geography. Additionally, since 1996, the number of consumers that indicated they would choose a hospital based on a high quality rating over familiarity has increased to 72 percent from 59 percent.

The new 2011 HealthGrades hospital ratings are free to the public at www.healthgrades.com.

HealthGrades Hospital Quality Ratings
HealthGrades’ hospital ratings and awards reflect the track record of patient outcomes at hospitals in the form of mortality and complication rates. HealthGrades rates hospitals independently based on data that hospitals submit to the federal government. No hospital can opt in or out of being rated, and no hospital pays to be rated.

For 26 procedures and treatments, HealthGrades issues star ratings that reflect the mortality and complication rates for each category of care. Hospitals receiving a 5-star rating have mortality or complication rates that are below the national average, to a statistically significant degree.

About Grand View
Grand View Hospital, Bucks County’s first hospital, has provided residents of Bucks and Montgomery Counties with comprehensive health care services since 1913. Grand View offers a range of care – particularly emphasizing the areas of cancer treatment, women's and children's health, surgery, orthopaedics, and heart and vascular care.
Grand View Hospital’s Joint Replacement Center team offers a wide range of replacement procedures including for the hip, knee, shoulder, ankle, and elbow. Grand View Hospital features a wide range of advanced joint replacement technologies that often result in a quicker recovery and shorter hospital stay. Grand View’s technologies include:

• Minimally invasive hip and knee replacement surgery
• Knee replacement options for women
• Computer-assisted knee replacement
• Stationary or rotating platform knee implants
• High-flex knee implants
• Reverse shoulder replacement

For more information about Grand View’s joint replacement services, call the Joint Center at (215) 453-4162 or visit www.gvh.org.