Inova Hospitals Among Nation’s Top 5 Percent for Clinical Excellence

National Study Finds Hospitals Deliver Consistent Quality Care

Falls Church, VA – (January 26, 2010) – Inova Alexandria, Inova Fair Oaks, Inova Fairfax and Inova Loudoun hospitals earned the 2010 Distinguished Hospital for Clinical Excellence Award™ by HealthGrades, an independent healthcare-ratings organization.

HealthGrades analyzed patient outcomes during 2006, 2007 and 2008 from nearly 5,000 hospitals nationwide. Just 269 hospitals — about 5 percent — received the Distinguished Hospital for Clinical Excellence Award.

HealthGrades found that if all hospitals performed at the level of Distinguished Hospitals, more than 150,000 deaths may have been prevented and more than 13,000 in-hospital complications may have been avoided. On average, patients who are treated at a Distinguished Hospital for Clinical Excellence are 29 percent less likely to face in-hospital mortality and 9 percent less likely to suffer from in-hospital complications.

“Patients in communities with a Distinguished Hospital for Clinical Excellence should feel proud of the hospital’s accomplishments, and confident that the level of care there is among the very best in the nation,” said Rick May, MD, a vice president with HealthGrades and an author of the study.

For the full list of the 269 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-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.