HealthGrades names Penrose among top women’s service hospital

Penrose-St. Francis Health Services was ranked among the top 5 percent in the nation for women’s health for the third consecutive year.

HealthGrades released the ranking, making Penrose the only hospital in the state to achieve the milestone.

The findings are based on an analysis of more than 5 million Medicare patient records from 2007 to 2009 and focused on 16 procedures and diagnoses. HealthGrades identified the top performing hospitals in the nation for women’s health and compared women’s health outcomes to those of men in two primary areas: cardiac care and bone health.

“Here at Penrose-St. Francis, we have taken a very specific approach in caring for the unique health needs of women,” said Christine Freeman-Hildebrant, Regional Director Women’s Health Services. “For example, we have established a physician advisory group of female physicians to help guide us on programs and services specifically for women. We continue to partner with other hospitals in the region to create a system of care for high-risk obstetrics, breast cancer care and awareness of cardiovascular health.”

Other key findings of the HealthGrades report include:

• An additional 41,025 women could have potentially survived their hospitalization and 8,558 could have avoided a major complication if all hospitals had performed at the level of HealthGrades Women’s Health Excellence Award recipient hospitals.
• For treatment of heart attack in 2009, only one-third of women received a cardiac surgical intervention compared to almost half of men (33.5 percent and 45.6 percent, respectively).
• Among heart attack patients receiving a cardiac intervention, such as coronary bypass surgery or angioplasty, women had a 30 percent higher death rate.
• The majority of hip fracture repair patients, 60 percent, are women.

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