Contact: Debra Thompson
Assoc. Director, PR & Communications
540-564-5886 

 

 

 

Harrisonburg, VA (July 9, 2007) – Rockingham Memorial Hospital announced today that it is among the nation’s top five percent of hospitals for overall clinical excellence, according to a study by HealthGrades, the nation’s leading independent healthcare ratings company.

 

Due to its outstanding quality performance, RMH has received HealthGrades’ 2007 Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence™. This is RMH’s third consecutive year to receive the award.

“Providing the highest quality of care to the patients we serve is a priority at Rockingham Memorial Hospital,” said T. Carter Melton Jr., RMH Chief Executive Officer. “Recognition by HealthGrades, an objective third party, validates the hard work and dedication of our physicians, staff and volunteers. It also illustrates our dedication to our mission of being an innovative, community-oriented health care provider committed to offering accessible, personalized, and high-quality services.”

According to the HealthGrades study, patients admitted to a hospital receiving this award are, on average, 28 percent less likely to die and 5 percent less likely to suffer from a major complication. This year, only 266 of the nation’s 4,971 non-federal hospitals—and only 12 in Virginia--will receive this distinction.

 

Of the hospitals receiving the Distinguished Hospital Award, only 135 have been the recipient for three consecutive years. RMH is one of nine hospitals in the state of Virginia to receive the award three years in a row.

 

RMH also ranks among the top five percent of all hospitals nationally and is the best in Virginia for both interventional cardiology (opening a blocked coronary artery using a balloon catheter and, possibly, stents) and pulmonary care. RMH also received the HealthGrades 2007 Specialty Excellence Award for Pulmonary Care. 

 

Each year, HealthGrades independently analyzes the clinical quality performance of all non-federal hospitals across the country in 28 procedures and diagnoses. Hospitals that receive the HealthGrades Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence are those hospitals that rank in the top five percent when all 28 individual scores are combined into an overall score.

RMH Among Top 5 Percent of Nation’s Hospitals in Quality—2

“This award reflects the developing new age of medicine where healthcare providers, the hospital, and the patients are not separate entities, but operate as a team,” said Crystl Willison M.D., RMH Chief of Medical Staff. “Our one goal is to achieve the best health and wellness for the patient through the work of all three. Quality healthcare is about teamwork, and commitment to this goal is the key. The RMH Medical Staff is committed to this goal. This award is a reflection of that commitment.”

HealthGrades estimates that if all patients were treated at Distinguished Hospitals, 158,264 lives could have been saved and 12,410 post-operative complications could have been avoided during the three years studied.

“We hope awards like this reinforce what many of our patients and their families already know: how highly we value our patients and the quality of care that they receive,” Melton said. “Nothing could be better for our patients, physicians, associates and community than to know that a highly regarded, independent source has determined that RMH’s overall clinical quality for our patients is at an exceptional level compared to hospitals nationwide. Everyone throughout our organization and in the community should take pride in this tremendous accomplishment.”