News/PR
USA Today Lists Bay Medical Among “Stand Out” Hospitals
August 20, 2008
Contact:
Christa Dean Hild
850-747-6542
Panama City, FL – Bay Medical received national media coverage today for being among a small number of hospitals who have better outcomes than the national average. Bay Medical was the only hospital in our region to be included on a list posted today on USAToday.com that featured hospitals with a better than average death rate for three common conditions. In today’s USA Today feature article “Hospital Death Rates Unveiled” the national newspaper reports on a recent release of information from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) marking the first time hospital death rates have been available to the public.
The posted hospital death rates are for three common conditions – heart attack, heart failure and pneumonia. The study of Medicare data placed Bay Medical among the best for the last two years of data. Bay Medical was one of only 41 hospitals in the nation with a better (lower) than average death rate for pneumonia during the 2006-07 time period and was one of only 38 hospitals with a better than average rate for heart failure during the 2005-06 time period. The death rate includes patients who pass away within 30 days of their hospital discharge for each of the three conditions. Many quality benchmarks are reported by CMS on the hospitalcompare.hhs.gov website, however many health officials regard the number of patients who die in the hospital or soon after discharge as the ultimate measure of performance.
To view the full report and the lists of Best & Worst Hospital Death Rates as well as use a handy map tool to locate hospitals in your area, visit USAToday.com