Survival Rates of Area Hospitals Released

Patients with certain ailments will now have better clarity on choosing between area hospitals, thanks to a hospital death rate report released by the federal government last week.

The publication of 30-day mortality rates for patients hospitalized with three common ailments in specific hospitals between July 2006 and June 2007 would give people the chance to make more informed choices while seeking treatment.

Lauding the first-of-its-kind report, Alex Bacchetti, who works with Provena Mercy Medical Center in Aurora as the regional vice president of planning and marketing, said this new data would considerably benefit the community and health-care providers by providing transparency.

"That transparency sort of (gives some) added urgency for all hospitals to continue to focus on quality… People are going to look at those numbers and react to those numbers and make decisions ..." said Bacchetti.

Edward Hospital in Naperville got the best report card in the analysis of its mortality rates for the three diseases- heart attack, heart failure and pneumonia.

The report showed Edward Hospital performed better than the national average, showing an 8.1 percent pneumonia mortality rate, which means 30 days after their stay at Edward, patients of pneumonia have a better chance of survival compared to the average U.S. hospital.

Edward's 30-day mortality rates for heart attack and heart failure cases were within the national average range, but slightly better than other area hospitals.

Officials at Edward's attributed the results to the norm of speeding up the administration of antibiotics to a person admitted for pneumonia and providing swift treatment to a patient admitted with a heart attack.

Other hospitals, like Delnor Hospital in Geneva and Rush-Copley Medical Center, which also fared well in the report rankings, said they have devised standardized care for swift treatment of heart attack, heart failure and pneumonia cases.

Lynne Casey, senior marketing specialist at Delnor said standardizing some aspects of treatment increases efficacy of care.

However, the new information is "… not the end all and be all," according to Dr. Steve B. Lowenthal, chief medical officer at Rush-Copley Medical Center in Aurora.

Lowenthal pointed out that over and above the care provided in a hospital, it is important to consider some other paradigms which can affect the mortality rate of these conditions – especially after a patient returns home.

Obesity and high blood pressure, as well as patients’ recalcitrance or simple neglect can significantly affect the picture, he added.