Inova Fairfax Hospital Among Nation’s Top 5% for Clinical Quality

National Honor Finds Consistent Hospital-Wide Clinical Excellence

Falls Church, VA – (January 27, 2009) – Inova Fairfax Hospital has been named a recipient of the 2009 Distinguished Hospital for Clinical Excellence Award by HealthGrades, an independent healthcare ratings organization. The award, based on an analysis of more than 41 million Medicare hospital discharges from 2005 to 2007, is given to only the top 5 percent of hospitals in the nation and rates 26 procedures and diagnoses from heart attacks to total knee replacement.

“It is truly an honor to be recognized as one of the nation’s top hospitals for outstanding clinical quality,” says Reuven Pasternak, MD, CEO, Inova Fairfax Hospital. “Our nurses, physicians and support staff are the true winners here. It is through their dedication and commitment that Inova Fairfax Hospital ranks among the best in the nation for clinical excellence.”

Of the nation’s 5,000 acute-care hospitals, only 270 hospitals are designated as HealthGrades’s Distinguished Hospitals for Clinical Excellence™. In HealthGrades’ Seventh Annual Hospital Quality and Clinical Excellence analysis, these 270 distinguished hospitals are compared to all other U.S. hospitals to identify trends in outcomes, relative risk and improvement for the years 2005, 2006 and 2007.

From 2005 to 2007, Distinguished Hospitals showed greater improvement with an average:

  • Reduction in risk-adjusted mortality of 18 percent, compared to 13 percent for all other hospitals
  • Reduction in risk-adjusted in-hospital complications of 4 percent, compared to 2.5 percent for all other hospitals.

HealthGrades also finds that if all hospitals performed at the level of Distinguished Hospitals, more than 152,000 deaths may have been prevented and more than 11,700 in-hospital complications may have been avoided. In addition, Medicare patients had, on average, an 8 percent lower risk of in-hospital complications at a Distinguished Hospital for Clinical Excellence for diagnoses and procedures that include orthopedic and neurosurgery, vascular surgery, prostate surgery and gall bladder surgery.

“Distinguished Hospitals for Clinical Excellence comprise a group of hospitals that excel across the board, not just in one or two specialties,” said Rick May, MD, HealthGrades senior physician consultant and an author of the study. “[These hospitals] should be commended for their relentless commitment to exceptional patient care.”

For the full list of the 270 award-winning hospitals, go to www.HealthGrades.com.

Health Grades, Inc. (Nasdaq: HGRD) is the leading independent healthcare ratings organization, providing quality ratings, profiles and cost information on the nation’s hospitals, physicians, nursing homes and prescription drugs. Millions of patients and many of the nation’s largest employers, health plans and hospitals rely on HealthGrades’ quality ratings, advisory services and decision-support resources. The HealthGrades Network of Web sites, including HealthGrades.com and WrongDiagnosis.com, is a top-ten health property according to ComScore and is the Internet’s leading destination for patients choosing providers. More information on the company can be found at www.healthgrades.com.

Inova Health System is a not-for-profit healthcare system based in Northern Virginia that consists of hospitals and other health services, including emergency- and urgent-care centers, home care, nursing homes, mental health and blood donor services, and wellness classes. Governed by a voluntary board of community members, Inova’s mission is to improve the health of the diverse community it serves through excellence in patient care, education and research. Inova provides a healthy environment for its patients, families, visitors, staff and physicians by prohibiting tobacco use on its campuses.

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