Download Survive Your Stay at the Hospital

SURVIVE YOUR STAY AT THE HOSPITAL CONSUMERS REPORT ‐ MAY 2014 The May issue of Consumer Reports summarized the
study results of health in hospitals. The study included 2591 hospitals, using data from CMMS
(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services). The
criteria used in the study are listed in the sidebar.
Scores were reported for only 28 hospitals - the top
15 scoring and 13 bottom-scoring facilities. The
scores for the four top-scoring and bottom-scoring
hospitals are summarized below. Clearly, many factors affect patient health in hospitals and no attempt
was made in this study to quantize these factors.
However, for whatever reason, hospitals in Northern
latitudes scored significantly higher than those in the
South, as shown in the summary chart below. The
highest score (78) was for a hospital in Maine, while
lowest score (11), was for a hospital in Mississippi.
It appears that the operating time of the HVAC system may be a contributing factor. The monthly average outside temperature, shown below, dictated
longer cooling operating times for HVAC systems in
the South. Cooling degree day data from the NOAA
provides a measure of operating time. For, example,
the cooling degree days for Cleveland, MS is about
1800, compared to about 330 at Damariscotta, ME;
requiring 5 times longer operation.
SCORING CATEGORIES Mortality represents the chance the patient
who has had a heart attack, heart failure, or
pneumonia will die within 30 days of admission, or the chance that a surgical patient with
serious complications will die in the hospital.
Readmission represents the chance that a patient is readmitted within 30 days of initial discharge.
Scanning reflects the percentage of chest and/
or CT scans that are ordered twice for the same
patient, once with contrast and once without.
Infections reflects a hospital's success in
avoiding infections from center-line and urinary catheters in invasive care units, and infections after certain surgeries.
Communications Indicates how well staff explain medications and discharge planning to
patients.
AVERAGE MONTHLY TEMPERATURE ‐ °F *
TOP‐SCORING APR Miles Memorial Hospital
Damariscotta, ME
78
Oaklawn Hospital
Marshall, MI
77
Aurora Medical Center
Oshkosh, WI
75
Lutheran Hospital
Cleveland, OH
75
78
78
70
78
MAY 85
85
79
85
JUN JUL AUG SEP 76
77
79
70
90
91
91
88
80
84
82
72
90
91
91
88
77
81
79
72
87
90
90
83
80
84
82
72
90
91
91
88
* Not part of Consumer Reports Study ©Trent Technologies, Inc. Tyler, Texas
BOTTOM‐SCORING NOV 80
80
72
80
11
Bolivar Medical Center
Cleveland, MS
19
Tulane Medical Center
New Orleans, LA
20
Harris Hospital
Newport, AR
20
Lake Cumberland Regional—Somerset, KY