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TOMS RIVER, New Jersey, October 16, 2006 – Community Medical Center announced today it has been ranked among the top five percent of hospitals in the nation in Overall Orthopedics, Pulmonary Services, and General Surgery according to a comprehensive study released by HealthGrades, the nation’s leading healthcare ratings company. Community Medical Center is also ranked Best (number one) in New Jersey in Overall Orthopedics, number two in General Surgery and number four in Pulmonary Services. Additionally, Community Medical Center is ranked in the top 10 percent in the nation in Spine Surgery and top 10 percent in GI Surgery and Procedures.
As a result of these rankings, Community Medical Center, an affiliate of the Saint Barnabas Health Care System, is the recipient of the 2007 HealthGrades Orthopedic Excellence Award™, the 2007 HealthGrades Pulmonary Excellence Award™ and the 2007 HealthGrades General Surgery Excellence Award™ as well as being a 5-star hospital for maternity care for 2006/2007.
Mark Pilla, Executive Vice President, Saint Barnabas Health Care System and Executive Director, Community Medical Center said, “These awards are the result of this hospital’s commitment to providing the highest level of clinical care to our community. The dedication and passion of our doctors, nurses and staff to provide our patients with the best care possible directly contributed to these outcomes. I’m proud of the collective effort they make each and every day; and proud to have Community Medical Center recognized for excellence in health care.”
Community Medical Center is also the recipient of the HealthGrades 2005 and 2006 Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence (the 2007 award will be announced in January 2007) and the HealthGrades 2005 and 2006 Distinguished Hospital Award for Patient Safety (the 2007 award will be announced in April 2007). Community is the only hospital in the state and one of only 35 hospitals in the country to achieve this rare distinction.
As part of its ninth annual Hospital Quality in America Study, HealthGrades independently analyzed more than 5,000 hospitals in all 50 states and the District of Columbia for its 2007 ratings, objectively assessing their clinical outcomes and quality. The 40 million hospitalization records utilized in the assessment are publicly available and licensed from the federal government’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The HealthGrades ratings take into account varying degrees of patient severity from hospital to hospital and measure whether patient outcomes for each of more than two dozen procedures and diagnoses are better than expected (5-Star), as expected (3-Star) or worse than expected (1-Star).
“Consumers continue to ask for more and better information to help them in their health care decision making,” said Samantha Collier, M.D., HealthGrades’ vice president of medical affairs. “Our analysis provides an apples-to-apples comparison of hospital performance by procedure or diagnosis, and it is evident there is significant variance between individual hospitals. For Community Medical Center to rank among the nation’s best reflects the efforts of everybody in the organization, and should be very comforting to area residents.”
The 2007 HealthGrades ratings for all hospitals nationwide are available, free of charge, on HealthGrades’ consumer Web site, located at www.healthgrades.com. More than three million individuals and employees of more than 125 major employers visit the HealthGrades web site every month to access quality information about hospitals, nursing homes and physicians. HealthGrades also provides consumers and payers with detailed assessments of hospitals’ patient-safety outcomes, based on indicators developed by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Community Medical Center (CMC) is an affiliate of the Saint Barnabas Health Care System, the largest integrated health care delivery system in New Jersey, with nine acute care hospitals, nine nursing homes, five ambulatory care facilities, three geriatric centers, three assisted living residencies, a freestanding 100-bed inpatient psychiatric facility and a statewide behavioral health network. Located in Toms River, Community is a fully accredited, acute-care 596-bed facility offering the most advanced, ultra-modern diagnostic and treatment services, including emergency and urgent care, laser and arthroscopic surgery, maternity and a Level II special care nursery and pediatrics unit. CMC offers the J. Phillip Citta Regional Cancer Center, affiliated with the renowned Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia; state-of-the-art Radiation Oncology; a Renal Dialysis Center; a Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory, as well as general medical and health care services to the residents of Ocean County; and the Center for Kids and Family with sites located in Toms River and Lacey. Community Medical Center has been awarded the esteemed Magnet Status for Nursing Excellence from the American Nurses Association's Credentialing Center (ANCC).
HealthGrades (NASDAQ:HGRD) is the leading healthcare ratings company, providing ratings and profiles of hospitals, nursing homes and physicians to consumers, corporations, health plans and hospitals. Millions of consumers and hundreds of the nation’s largest employers, health plans and hospitals rely on HealthGrades’ independent ratings to make healthcare decisions based on the quality of care. More information on the company can be found at http://www.healthgrades.com.
Contact: Jason R. Baran
Public Relations Specialist
(732) 557-3909
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