Awards and Recognitions: Tangible Evidence of Quality Patient Care

Did you know that our local hospital, Marin General Hospital, has been recognized this past year with the highest level awards for safety and quality from HealthGrades, LeapFrog and the Joint Commission? What’s more, over 200 of our physicians were named 2015 “Top Docs” by Marin Magazine and other regional publications.

These awards showcase the talents and skills of our staff and their commitment to the achievement of excellence in patient care and safety – and we take great satisfaction in being recognized in this way.

These awards are not only good news for the hospital; they are also good news for the community we serve. They tell us that Marin General Hospital, your community hospital, is demonstrating the kind of levels of expertise in patient care and safety which you understandably want and need for yourself and your family when you seek medical care.

As meaningful as they are, however, health care awards are not typically front page news. I wish they were. From my perspective as the Chief Medical Officer at Marin General Hospital, responsible for the quality of medical care our patients receive, these awards matter a great deal.

For example, did you realize that Marin General Hospital is among the top 5% of all hospitals in the US as measured by Healthgrades, a leading quality rating agency that helps consumers get the information they need to make more informed decisions about their doctors and hospitals. For the third year in a row, Healthgrades has recognized Marin General Hospital with its Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence. Only 260 hospitals nationwide are selected annually for this award.

Healthgrades analyzes more than 45 million Medicare medical claims records for the most recent three-year time period available from 4,500 hospitals nationwide, measuring hospital performance for the most common in-hospital procedures and conditions, adjusting for each patient’s risk factors, such as, age, gender, and medical condition. 

Healthgrades also awarded Marin General Hospital additional honors for clinical outcomes in specific areas. For cardiac care, the hospital was named as one of America's 100 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Care™(one of only 100 hospitals in the country); top 10% in nation for overall cardiac services as well as for cardiac surgery; received five stars, the highest score, for valve surgery, coronary interventional procedures and treatment of heart attack. The hospital has been the recipient of all of these awards multiple years in a row.

The hospital also earned, and has for multiple years in a row, acknowledgments and highest scores from Healthgrades in neurosciences/stroke care; critical care; treatment for pneumonia; prostate surgery; and colorectal surgery.

Then, in recognition from another source, Marin General Hospital was named a Top Performer on Key Quality Measures® by The Joint Commission, the leading accreditor of health care organizations in the United States. The Top Performer program recognizes hospitals for improving performance on evidence-based interventions that increase the chances of healthy outcomes for patients with certain conditions, including heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia, surgical care, children’s asthma, stroke, venous thromboembolism and perinatal care, as well as for inpatient psychiatric services and immunizations.

In addition to quality clinical care, our highest priority at Marin General Hospital is patient safety. We were especially pleased to receive an “A” grade for safety from the Leapfrog Group, an independent industry watchdog organization that rates how well hospitals protect patients from medical errors. The Leapfrog Group panel uses twenty eight measures to rate the organizations and is peer reviewed in the Journal of Patient Safety. This is the third consecutive year that Marin General has received an “A” grade.

Also demonstrating patient safety, Marin General’s Emergency Department (ED) was honored by the BETA Healthcare Group, the largest writer of hospital professional liability coverage in the state of California. Our excellent ED staff received the honor by complying with the stringent standards in BETA’s Quest for Zero: Excellence in Emergency Department patient safety initiative.

To us, these awards and others we’ve received through the years, are not just trophies to put in our lobby to admire. They are tangible evidence of what we have worked so hard to achieve on behalf of our patients and our employees. Good news such as this deserves to be shared. We invite you to visit our website for a complete listing of our awards and to follow us as we strive to continue this trend of excellence into 2016 and beyond.