Orthopedic Services Cited in 8th Annual HealthGrades Study

(St. Louis) – Des Peres Hospital has received five-star ratings for clinical excellence in Total Knee Replacement, Total Hip Replacement and Joint Replacement Surgery according to a study released today by HealthGrades, a leading independent healthcare ratings company.   In fact Des Peres Hospital is:

• Ranked #1 in Missouri for Joint Replacement Surgery
• Ranked #1 in Central St. Louis for Orthopedic Surgical Services
• Ranked #1 in Central St. Louis for Overall Orthopedic Services
  And
• Is now Ranked Among the Top 5% in the Nation for Joint Replacement Surgery

 “Quality patient care is a top priority,” said Michele C. Meyer, Chief Executive Officer.  “Recognition from an objective, independent source such as HealthGrades validates the efforts our physicians, nurses and staff make to deliver quality, personal care to our patients every day.”

 “Everything was top notch,” said Ms. Carol Klein from Affton of her 4-day stay for total hip replacement surgery.  “The staff was attentive and anticipated my needs as if I were the only patient in the hospital.  To them, I was Carol, not ‘the hip in 42’.”

As part of its eighth annual Hospital Quality in America Study, HealthGrades independently analyzed nearly 5,000 hospitals in all 50 states and the District of Columbia for its 2006 ratings, objectively assessing their clinical outcomes and quality.  The data utilized in the assessment is licensed from the federal government’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.  The HealthGrades ratings measure whether patient outcomes for each of more than two dozen procedures and diagnoses are better than expected (5-Star), as expected (3-Star) or worse than expected (1-Star).  “HealthGrades objectively rates hospitals' performance to help consumers make better health care choices, and it’s clear that Des Peres Hospital provides outstanding orthopedic care.  The people of St. Louis should be secure knowing they have top-notch care in their own backyard," said Samantha Collier, M.D., HealthGrades vice president of medical affairs. 

The 2006 HealthGrades ratings for all hospitals nationwide are available, free of charge, on the web at www.healthgrades.com.  More than two-and-a-half million unique users and 125 major employers visit the HealthGrades web site every month to access quality information about hospitals, nursing homes and physicians.  HealthGrades also provides consumers and payers with detailed assessments of hospitals’ patient safety outcomes, based on indicators developed by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

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