3 local hospitals named among nation’s top 50

Three local hospitals were named among the top 50 in the country, placing them in the top 1 percent, according to a study published Tuesday.

Christ Hospital in Mount Auburn, Bethesda North Hospital in Montgomery and St. Elizabeth in Edgewood, Ky., were all named in Healthgrades America’s 50 Best Hospitals study. The hospitals achieved overall clinical excellence for at least seven consecutive years, according to the study.

In addition to Bethesda North and Christ Hospital, four other Ohio hospitals made the top 50 list. St. Elizabeth was the only Kentucky hospital to rank in the top 50. Dayton's Grandview Medical Center also finished in the top 50.

The Greater Cincinnati Metropolitan area ranked fourth among America's Top 20 Cities for in-hospital mortality rate at 4.89 percent. Dayton, Ohio, ranked first with an in-hospital mortality rate of 4.68 percent.

To determine the top 50 hospitals in the country, Healthgrades first examines the hospitals that make the Distinguished Hospitals for Clinical Excellence list or the hospitals ranked in the top 5 percent in the nation.

Healthgrades determined the top hospitals 5 percent of hospitals by examining a wide-ranging set of 27 conditions and procedures in two areas – mortality-based conditions and procedures and complication-based conditions and procedures.

Hospitals were measured on risk-adjusted mortality and complication rates across the 27 conditions and procedures.

Spanning the period of the study from 2009 to 2011, and based on the study’s examination of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services records, 165,636 lives could have been potentially saved if all other hospitals performed at the level of the top 2 percent of hospitals or America’s Top 100 Hospitals, according to the study.

To view the study in its entirety, visit http://www.healthgrades.com/quality