A study released October 13, 2009 by HealthGrades, finds that Sebastian River Medical Center is among the top 10 percent in the nation for Stroke, Critical Care, Pulmonary Care, and General Surgery. The nation's nearly 5,000 nonfederal hospitals were all included in the sweeping study, which examined mortality rates and complication rates from government data from 2006, 2007 and 2008.
As a result, Sebastian River Medical Center received the 2010 Specialty Excellence Awards for Stroke, Critical Care, Pulmonary Care, and General Surgery. Sebastian is also five-star rated in Spine Surgery, Back and Neck Surgery for the third year in a row.
"The highest quality patient care is our top priority at Sebastian River Medical Center," says Emily Holliman, CEO. "Being recognized by an objective, independent source such as HealthGrades validates the efforts our physicians, nurses, and staff deliver to the patients we serve every day." "We are extremely proud to be recognized as a top quality, healthcare organization that delivers outstanding care to the patients it serves", added Mrs. Holliman.
The HealthGrades twelfth annual Hospital Quality in America study, the largest annual report of its kind, analyzed patient outcomes from nearly 40 million Medicare hospitalization records. Top-performing hospitals had dramatically lower mortality rates than other hospitals, according to the study. For the 17 procedures and diagnoses for which HealthGrades analyzed mortality rates, patients at top hospitals had a 72 percent lower chance of dying when compared with the lowest-performing hospitals, and a 52 percent lower chance of dying when compared to the U.S. national average.