Huntsville Hospital ranks high against others in the nation

HUNTSVILLE — Huntsville Hospital was recently named one of America’s 50 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Surgery and one of America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Spine Surgery, according to a national study by Healthgrades, the leading online resource for comprehensive information about physicians and hospitals.

Every year, Healthgrades evaluates hospital performance at almost 4,500 hospitals nationwide for 32 of the most common inpatient procedures and conditions, as well as tracking outcomes in appendectomy and bariatric surgery using all-payer data provided by 15 states and the District of Columbia.

Huntsville Hospital is the only hospital in Alabama to be named among the top 5 percent of hospitals in the nation for spine surgery. Huntsville Hospital is also the only hospital in Alabama to receive recognition as part of America’s 50 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Surgery for five consecutive years (2015-2019).

These achievements are part of findings released in the Healthgrades 2019 Report to the Nation. The new report demonstrates how clinical performance differs dramatically between hospitals nationally, regionally and at locally. In addition, the report looks at the impact that this variation has on health outcomes.

Studies also found that from 2015-2017, patients treated at hospitals receiving the America’s 50 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Surgery Award have, on average, a 51.1 percent lower risk of dying than if they were treated in hospitals that did not receive the award.

Similarly, in that same timeframe, patients treated at hospitals receiving the America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Spine Surgery Award have, on average, a 48.2 percent lower risk of experiencing a complication while in the hospital than if they were treated in hospitals that did not receive the award.

“Hospitals that have achieved the Healthgrades America’s 50 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Care and America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Spine Surgery have proven their dedication to quality care and exceptional outcomes,” said Brad Bowman, MD, chief medical officer at Healthgrades. “Consumers should consider hospital quality when navigating their care journeys, and these recognitions distinguish Huntsville Hospital in the marketplace.”

David Spillers, Huntsville Hospital Health System CEO, said the ratings are “a great recognition of the quality of our program.”

“To be included among the best in the nation and in Alabama is a reflection of the great work done here,” he said. “We give the credit to all of the members of our Cardiac Surgery and Spine Surgery teams for earning these distinctions.”

Huntsville Hospital was also recognized for the following clinical achievements:

• Five-Star Distinction for Coronary Bypass Surgery for 12 years in a row (2008-2019)

• Five-Star Distinction for Spinal Fusion Surgery for 3 years in a row (2017-2019)

• Five-Star Distinction for Total Knee Replacement in 2019

For its analysis, Healthgrades evaluated approximately 45 million Medicare inpatient records for almost 4,500 short-term acute care hospitals nationwide to assess hospital performance in 32 common conditions and procedures. They also evaluated outcomes in appendectomy and bariatric surgery using all-payer data provided by 15 states and the District of Columbia.

Healthgrades recognizes a hospital’s quality achievements for cohort-specific performance, specialty area performance and overall clinical quality. Individual procedure or condition cohorts are designated as 5-star (statistically significantly better than expected), 3-star (not statistically different from expected) and 1-star (statistically significantly worse than expected) categories.

The complete Healthgrades 2019 Report to the Nation and detailed study methodology can be found at healthgrades.com/quality.

Huntsville Hospital is a 941-bed hospital that serves as the regional referral center for North Alabama and southern Tennessee. Huntsville Hospital is governed by the Health Care Authority of the City of Huntsville and is the second-largest hospital in Alabama. In recent years, the hospital has expanded its services throughout the region with the development of Huntsville Hospital Health System, which includes hospitals in Huntsville, Madison, Athens, Decatur, Boaz, Guntersville, Moulton, Red Bay, Sheffield, Russellville and Fayetteville, Tennessee. The Health System includes more than 2,200 patient beds and 15,000 employees.

For more information on Huntsville Hospital, visit huntsvillehospital.org. The hospital has several locations in Huntsville and Madison.