SEATTLE – (Oct. 18, 2016) – Virginia Mason announced today it has been recognized by Healthgrades as one of America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Care, Pulmonary Care, Critical Care, Gastrointestinal Care and General Surgery.

Virginia Mason is the only hospital in Washington to be named one of America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Care. Also, Virginia Mason is is the sole hospital in Washington to be designated one of America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Critical Care for five consecutive years (2013-2017).

In addition, Virginia Mason is the only hospital in the Pacific Northwest (Washington, Oregon and Idaho) to be named:

• One of America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Gastrointestinal Care for six consecutive years (2012-2017).
• One of America’s 100 Best Hospitals for General Surgery for five consecutive years (2013-2017).
• One America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Gastrointestinal Care and General Surgery for five consecutive years (2013-2017).

Moreover, Virginia Mason is the recipient of 13 Five-Star Achievements across multiple conditions and procedures: Treatment of Heart Attack; Treatment of Heart Failure, Coronary Interventional Procedures; Treatment of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease; Treatment of Pneumonia, Esophageal/Stomach Surgeries, Colorectal Surgeries; Treatment of GI Bleed; Treatment of Bowel Obstruction; Treatment of Respiratory Failure; Treatment of Diabetic Emergencies; Treatment of Pulmonary Embolism; and Treatment of Sepsis. A five-star rating indicates that a hospital’s clinical outcomes are statistically significantly better than expected when treating the condition or performing the procedure being evaluated.

“This recognition by Healthgrades is another affirmation of the commitment to high quality care and patient safety that distinguishes our organization,” said Virginia Mason Chairman and CEO Gary S. Kaplan, MD. “Our physicians, nurses and other team members strive to always put patients first in everything they do. The results of this dedication are evident in excellent clinical outcomes and remarkable patient experiences.”

The information was released today in the Healthgrades 2017 Report to the Nation. From 2013-2015, if all hospitals as a group, performed similarly to hospitals receiving five stars as a group, on average 223,412 lives could potentially have been saved and 162,215 complications could potentially have been avoided. Statistics are based on Healthgrades’ analysis of MedPAR data for years 2013 through 2015 and represent three-year estimates for Medicare patients only.

For its analysis, Healthgrades evaluated approximately 45 million Medicare inpatient records for nearly 4,500 short-term acute care hospitals nationwide, assessing performance relative to each of 32 common conditions and procedures, as well as evaluating comparative outcomes in appendectomy and bariatric surgery using all-payer data provided by 18 states. Healthgrades recognizes a hospital’s quality achievements for cohort-specific performance, specialty area performance and overall clinical quality. Individual procedure or condition cohorts are designated as five-star (statistically significantly better than expected); three-star (not statistically different from expected) and one-star (statistically significantly worse than expected) categories. The complete Healthgrades report and methodology are online at healthgrades.com/quality.

Recently, Healthgrades named Virginia Mason one America’s 100 Best Hospitals for the third consecutive year (2014-2016) and recognized the medical center with the Outstanding Patient Experience Award for the fourth consecutive year (2013-2016).

About Virginia Mason Health System
Virginia Mason, founded in 1920, is a nonprofit regional health care system based in Seattle that serves the Pacific Northwest. In the Puget Sound region, the system includes 336-bed Virginia Mason Hospital; a primary and specialty care group practice of more than 500 physicians; regional medical centers in Seattle, Bainbridge Island, Bellevue, Federal Way, Kirkland, Issaquah and Lynnwood; Bailey-Boushay House, the first skilled-nursing and outpatient chronic care management program in the U.S. designed and built specifically to meet the needs of people with HIV/AIDS; Benaroya Research Institute, which is internationally recognized for autoimmune disease research; and Virginia Mason Institute, which trains health care professionals and others from around the world in the Virginia Mason Production System, an innovative management methodology for continually improving quality, safety and efficiency. Virginia Mason online: VirginiaMason.org

Virginia Mason Health System also includes Yakima-based Memorial Family of Services and Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital, a 226-bed facility serving the Yakima Valley in Central Washington since 1950. Memorial Family of Services comprises primary care practices and specialty care services, including high quality cardiac care, a continuum of cancer care, hospice care, and advanced services for children with special health care needs. Memorial online: YakimaMemorial.org

Media Contact:
Gale Robinette
Media Relations Manager
Virginia Mason Health System (206) 341-1509
gale.robinette@VirginiaMason.org