West Valley Medical Center Receives Top Quality Outcome Recognition: #1 in General Surgery and Prostatectomy in Idaho, Top 5 for Critical Care in Idaho

West Valley Medical Center October 23, 2012

#1 in General Surgery and Prostatectomy in Idaho, Top 5 for Critical Care in Idaho

Caldwell, ID – West Valley Medical Center is ranked #1 in Idaho for General Surgery and Prostatectomy in 2013 from Healthgrades, the leading provider of information to help consumers make an informed decision about a physician or hospital. The findings are part of American Hospital Quality Outcomes 2013: Healthgrades Report to the Nation, which evaluates the performance of approximately 4,500 hospitals nationwide across nearly 30 of the most common conditions and procedures.

Patient outcomes are important to consumers making choices today about hospitals. According to new research conducted by Harris Interactive for Healthgrades, 86% of Americans in 27 top designated market areas agree they would be more likely to choose—or not choose—a hospital if they could learn ahead of time the mortality rates for a certain procedure.

West Valley Medical Center Healthgrades recognitions include:

Ranked #1 in Idaho for General Surgery for 2 Years in a Row (2012-2013)
Ranked #1 in Idaho and a Five-Star recipient for Prostatectomy in 2013
Five-Star Recipient for Cholecystectomy for 2 Years in a Row (2012-2013)
Ranked top 5 in Idaho for Critical Care in 2013
Five-Star Recipient for Treatment of Respiratory Failure in 2013
Ranked top 5 in Idaho for Gastrointestinal Services in 2013

“West Valley Medical Center is proud to once again be recognized by HealthGrades as the best in Idaho 2013 for General Surgery and Prostatectomy. The importance of these ratings exemplifies our commitment to quality and our passion to provide the best to our community. We are grateful to all our experienced surgeons and highly trained hospital staff in making this designation possible.” commented Julie Taylor, CEO of West Valley Medical Center.

According to the Healthgrades study, the risk of death is 58% lower at hospitals receiving 5 stars versus all other hospitals. The 2013 performance outcomes are now available free to the public at Healthgrades.

The “Patient Experience” initiatives at West Valley Medical Center have fostered an environment of change that has identified areas of improvement to meet the growing needs of Canyon County. Urologist, Donald Stritzke, MD states “good teamwork is good medicine” and that is what separates West Valley Medical Center from other facilities. The commitment to high quality care has translated into new pre and postsurgical patient care facilities and new Operating Rooms with the latest technology.

For its 2013 hospital quality outcomes analysis, Healthgrades evaluated approximately 40 million Medicare hospitalization records for services performed from 2009 through 2011 at approximately 4,500 short-term, acute care hospitals nationwide. Healthgrades independently measures hospitals based on data that hospitals submit to the federal government. No hospital can opt in or out of being measured, and no hospital pays to be measured. Mortality and complication rates are risk adjusted, which takes into account each hospital’s unique population (demographics and severity of illness).

The American Hospital Quality Outcomes 2013: Healthgrades Report to the Nation, including the complete methodology, can be found at Healthgrades.