Palmetto's Bariatric Surgery Ranked Among Top 5% In U.S. By HealthGrades
Hialeah, FL – Palmetto General Hospital was ranked among the top 5 % in the nation for bariatric surgery according to a new study issued today by HealthGrades, the leading independent healthcare ratings organization. Based on this ranking,
Palmetto General is one of only 48 hospitals in the nation to receive the 2010/2011 Bariatric Surgery Excellence Award™ from HealthGrades.
"At Palmetto General Hospital, our physicians and medical staff dedicate themselves to providing the highest quality care," said Ana Mederos, CEO of Palmetto General. "I'm proud of our bariatric team for making it possible to have this elite designation."
The fifth annual HealthGrades Bariatric Surgery Trends in American Hospitals Study is the largest annual study of its kind.
The study of objective patient outcomes evaluated all hospitals in 19 states over the years 2006, 2007 and 2008 using data obtained from state governments. Hospitals could not choose whether or not to participate in the study. In all, nearly 200,000 surgeries were evaluated for major inhospital complication rates at the 481 hospitals (out of more than 2,500) that performed bariatric surgeries in sufficient enough volumes to be rated.
Bariatric surgery can produce dramatic weight loss among the morbidly obese, who comprise about 5% of the national population according to the Centers for Disease Control. In many cases, individuals undergoing the procedure lose the equivalent of one-third of their body weight or more. Bariatric surgery has also been shown, in the morbidly obese, to significantly improve or cure a variety of major health problems including diabetes, high blood pressure and sleep apnea.
"It is of the utmost importance for our team to provide the best quality care possible for our patients," said Dr. Jorge Sosa, Medical Director, Bariatric Center of Excellence at Palmetto General Hospital. "This designation is a testament to the care our team provides."
Palmetto and other top-performing hospitals in bariatric surgery had 43% fewer complications, on average, than hospitals performing at an average level, according to the HealthGrades study. Patients at top-performing hospitals had lengths of stay that averaged exactly two days, while patients at average hospitals had lengths of stay that averaged 2.21 days and patients at the poorest-performing hospitals had lengths of stay that averaged 2.48 days.
"This study shows, quite dramatically, that for bariatric surgery, it is important for patients to evaluate hospitals using objective information as they make their choice," said Rick May, MD, a vice president with HealthGrades and a co-author of the study.
Read the fifth annual HealthGrades Bariatric Surgery Trends in American Hospitals Study.
ABOUT PALMETTO GENERAL HOSPITAL
Palmetto General Hospital, part of Tenet's Miami-Dade/Broward Health Network, is a 360-bed acute-care hospital at 2001 West 68th St in Hialeah, Florida. The hospital has served the medical and health care needs of Northwest Miami-Dade and Southwest Broward counties for more than 30 years.
Palmetto General Hospital offers a broad range of services, including adult and pediatric emergency rooms, maternity, mental health, cancer center, hyperbaric, wound care, and sleep disorders center, a cardiac program that includes both medical and surgical services, a bariatric program that has been designated a Center of Excellence by the American Society for Bariatric Surgery and a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence as designated by the American College of Radiology..
Palmetto General Hospital is fully accredited by The Joint Commission, the nation's oldest and largest hospital accreditation agency. The hospital is the Best-Rated Hospital in Miami-Dade County for Bariatric Surgery and ranks second in Florida and among the Top 5% in the Nation for Bariatric Surgery for two consecutive years in a row by HealthGrades, a health care quality rankings company.
In addition it has earned a five-star rating and is among the top five percent of hospitals in the nation for maternity care by HealthGrades. The Hospital has also received 2009 American Heart Association Get With the Guidelines (GWTG) Gold Performance Achievement Award, 2009 American Heart Association/American Stroke Association – choose the America's Best Hospitals issue (July 2009) – US News and World Report to recognize the Hospitals for Achievements in Get With The Guidelines Programs. Palmetto General Hospital is also one of only 34 hospitals nationwide to earn Solucient's 100 Top Hospitals designation six or more times.