Inova Alexandria Hospital Among Nation’s Top 5% for Clinical Excellence

National Honor Finds Consistent Hospital-Wide Quality Care

Falls Church, VA  – (May 8, 2009) – Inova Alexandria 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. It rates 26 procedures and diagnoses, from heart attacks and stroke to surgery and women’s care.

“It is a great honor to be one of the best hospitals in the country,” said Christine Candio, CEO, Inova Alexandria Hospital. “Our nurses, physicians and staff are committed to providing quality care to our patients, and this award validates the effort they make each day.”

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

HealthGrades found 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. From 2005 to 2007, Distinguished Hospitals also showed greater improvement with an average:

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

In addition, Medicare patients had, on average, an 8 percent lower risk of in-hospital complications at a Distinguished Hospital 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 – News) 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-10 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.