Press Release
Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare recognized in national quality study
For Immediate Release, April 26, 2006
Contact:
Kyle Bauer, 630-993-5702
ELMHURST - Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare (EMHC) has recently been named a recipient of the 2006 Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical ExcellenceTM, based on a study issued by HealthGrades, the nation’s leading independent healthcare ratings company.
Hospitals receiving this award were rated in the top 5 percent in the nation in terms of mortality and complication rates for 26 procedures and diagnoses rated by HealthGrades. Patients attending a hospital receiving this award are, on average, 27 percent less likely to face mortality and 14 percent less likely to suffer from a major complication.
“Quality of care is our top priority at Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare,” said EMHC President and CEO Leo Fronza. “Providing our patients and families with the best care possible is inherent in our mission, vision and values. Being named as a top hospital in one of the largest healthcare studies in America validates all we have worked for.”
Each year, HealthGrades independently analyzes the clinical quality performance of all nonfederal hospitals across the country in 26 procedures and diagnoses, ranging from bypass surgery to total knee replacement. Hospitals that receive the HealthGrades Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence are those that rank in the top 5 percent when all 26 individual scores are aggregated into an overall score. Only 277 U.S. hospitals and 21 in Illinois qualified for this prestigious award in 2006.
In the Distinguished Hospital Study, which looks at tens of millions of hospitalization records over the years 2002, 2003 and 2004, HealthGrades estimates that if all patients went to Distinguished Hospitals, 152,966 lives could have been saved and 21,896 post-operative complications could have been avoided
“We have a skillful and dedicated team of clinicians and employees,” Fronza said. “It is because of their hard work that our patients and their families receive quality healthcare that is among the best in the nation.”
Founded in 1926, Elmhurst Memorial Hospital today is Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare, a comprehensive health system with multiple locations and services designed to enhance the health of the communities and customers we serve. With 427 licensed beds, Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare and its staff of more than 3,500 employees and 550 physicians are committed to excellence in medical and surgical care, behavioral health, cardiology, emergency care, maternity, neurosurgery, oncology, orthopedics and pediatrics. For more information about Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare, please call our physician referral line at (630) 782-7878, or visit our online physician referral service.