Breaking News

The Big Horn Hospital Association Ranked Among Top Five Percent in Nation & Receives Clinical Excellence Award

Tuscaloosa, FL (January 27, 2013) - Regional Medical Center announced today that it is ranked among the nation's top five percent of hospitals for the fifth consecutive year, according to an independent study of mortality and complication rates for nearly 5,000 hospitals released today by HealthGrades, the nation's leading healthcare ratings company.
Regional Medical Center has achieved HealthGrades' 2009 Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence based on its clinical quality performance. According to the HealthGrades study, patients admitted to a hospital receiving this award are, on average, 27 percent less likely to die and 8 percent less likely to suffer from a major complication. This year, only 270 of the nation's nearly 5,000 non-federal hospitals will receive this distinction.

The HealthGrades study also found that Distinguished Hospitals for Clinical Excellence™ are improving their patient outcomes at a greater rate in more procedures and diagnoses than all other hospitals, lowering risk-adjusted mortality rates over the years 2005, 2006 and 2007 by an average of 18%.

"I'm extremely proud of this accomplishment," said CEO Brad Nurkin. "Our employees and physicians, board members and volunteers all contribute to the continued success of Regional, and their efforts clearly show when we earn national awards like this."

"The hospitals that have been designated as Distinguished Hospitals for Clinical Excellence have, across the board, been leaders in their commitment to delivering the highest quality patient care. Consumers can choose where they receive their healthcare and our study again highlights the tremendous disparity in quality between hospitals," said Rick May, MD, HealthGrades senior physician consultant.

In addition to the Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence™, Regional Medical Center has a variety of 2009 clinical achievements including:

Ranked Among the Top 10% in the Nation for Cardiology Services - Four Years in a Row
Five-Star Rated for Cardiology Services and Coronary Interventional Procedures - Four Years in a Row
Received the Highest Possible Star Ratings for Treatment of Heart Attack and Heart Failure - Six Years in a Row
Five-Star Rated for Total Knee Replacement and Joint Replacement Surgery - Two Years in a Row
Five-Star Rated for Overall Pulmonary Care - Three Years in a Row
Received the Highest Possible Star Ratings for Treatment of Pneumonia - Three Years in a Row
Ranked Among the Top 10% in the Nation for GI Medical Treatment
Ranked Among the Top 10 in Alabama for GI Medical Treatment
Five-Star Rated for Treatment of GI Bleed and Bowel Obstruction

This is the seventh year that HealthGrades has independently analyzed the clinical quality performance of all non-federal hospitals across the country in 26 procedures and diagnoses. In the Distinguished Hospital Study, the company reviewed nearly 41 million hospitalization records from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, over the years 2005, 2006 and 2007. All hospitals that participate in the Medicare program were part of the independent study. Hospitals that receive the HealthGrades Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical ExcellenceTM are those hospitals that rank in the top five percent when all 26 individual scores are aggregated into an overall score.

Regional Medical Center is a leading provider of healthcare in Southwest Alabama that serves County and surrounding areas. A full copy of the study is available at http://www.healthgrades.com.


2009 Ranking & Accolades

Overall Clinical Excellence
Ranked Among the Top 5% in the Nation for Overall Clinical Excellence - Five Years in a Row (2005 - 2009)
Recipient of the HealthGrades Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence™ - Five Years in a Row (2005 - 2009)
Recipient of Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospitals Crystal Award For Excellence (2007)

Cardiac Care
Recipient of the HealthGrades Cardiac Care Excellence Award™ - Four Years in a Row (2006 - 2009)
Ranked Among the Top 10% in the Nation for Overall Cardiac Care - Four Years in a Row (2006 - 2009)
Ranked Among the Top 10% in the Nation for Cardiology Services - Four Years in a Row (2006 - 2009)
Five-Star Rated for Cardiology Services - Four Years in a Row (2006 - 2009)
Five-Star Rated for Coronary Interventional Procedures - Four Years in a Row (2006 - 2009)
Five-Star Rated for Treatment of Heart Attack - Six Years in a Row (2004 - 2009)
Five-Star Rated for Treatment of Heart Failure - Six Years in a Row (2004 - 2009)
Received the Highest Possible Star Ratings for Treatment of Heart Attack - Six Years in a Row (2004 - 2009)
Received the Highest Possible Star Ratings for Treatment of Heart Failure - Six Years in a Row (2004 - 2009)
100 Top Hospitals: Cardiovascular Benchmarks for Success Award (1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004)

Orthopedics
Five-Star Rated for Total Knee Replacement - Two Years in a Row (2008, 2009)
Five-Star Rated for Joint Replacement Surgery - Two Years in a Row (2008, 2009)

Pulmonary Services
Recipient of the HealthGrades 2009 Pulmonary Care Excellence Award™
Ranked Among the Top 10% in the Nation for Overall Pulmonary Services
Five-Star Rated for Overall Pulmonary Care - Three Years in a Row (2007 - 2009)
Received the Highest Possible Star Ratings for Treatment of Pneumonia - Three Years in a Row (2007 - 2009)
Five-Star Rated for Treatment of Pneumonia - Five Years in a Row (2005 - 2009)

Stroke Services
Ranked Among the Top 10% in the Nation for Stroke Care (2005, 2007)
Recipient of the 2007 Stroke Care Excellence Award™
Five-Star Rated for Treatment of Stroke - Four Years in a Row (2004 - 2007)
100 Top Hospitals: Stroke Benchmarks for Success Award (2000)

Gastrointestinal Services
Ranked Among the Top 10% in the Nation for GI Medical Treatment
Ranked Among the Top 10 for GI Medical Treatment
Five-Star Rated for Treatment of GI Bleed
Five-Star Rated for Treatment of Bowel Obstruction
Received the Highest Possible Star Ratings for Treatment of GI Bleed