Reid Health 5-star rated for stroke care third year in a row

Reid Health is 5-star rated for stroke outcomes according to new research released by Healthgrades, a leading resource connecting consumers, physicians and health systems.

Every year, Healthgrades evaluates hospital performance at nearly 4,500 hospitals nationwide for 32 of the most common inpatient procedures and conditions using Medicare data.

This analysis shows patients treated at hospitals receiving a 5-star rating have a lower risk of dying and a lower risk of experiencing one or more complications during a hospital stay than if they were treated at hospitals receiving a 1-star rating in that procedure or condition. From 2017 through 2019, if all hospitals as a group performed similarly to hospitals receiving 5-stars as a group, on average, 218,785 lives potentially could have been saved and complications in 148,681 patients potentially could have been avoided.*

From 2017-2019, patients treated for stroke in hospitals with 5-stars for in-hospital mortality have, on average, a 53.4% lower risk of dying than if they were treated in hospitals with 1-star for in-house mortality.*

Reid Health earned the award by meeting specific quality achievement measures for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients at a set level for a designated period.

"Hospital quality has never been more important, and consumers are becoming more aware of the importance of researching where they receive care before they visit a hospital for a specific procedure or condition," said Brad Bowman, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Healthgrades. "Hospitals that receive a Healthgrades 5-star rating for Stroke demonstrate exceptional outcomes and their ability to provide quality care for patients."

Misti Foust-Cofield, Reid Health Vice President/Chief Nursing Officer, said the health system has been dedicated to excellence in stroke care, with the rating reflecting the success of those efforts. "Our team has also been recognized by the American Heart Association recently," she said. "We are unwavering in our commitment to provide the most appropriate treatment to our stroke patients."

Reid Health received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Silver Plus Quality Achievement Award earlier this year. The award recognizes the hospital's commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.

Reid Health earned the award by meeting specific quality achievement measures for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients at a set level for a designated period. These measures include evaluation of the proper use of medications and other stroke treatments aligned with the most up-to-date, evidence-based guidelines with the goal of speeding recovery and reducing death and disability for stroke patients. Before discharge, patients also should receive education on managing their health, get a follow-up visit scheduled, and other care transition interventions.

Reid Health is designated as a Primary Stroke Center featuring a comprehensive system for rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients admitted to the emergency department.

"We are unwavering in our commitment to provide the most appropriate treatment to our stroke patients." -- Misti Foust-Cofield, Reid Health Vice President/Chief Nursing Officer

Earlier this year, Reid Health - Connersville Emergency Department also was granted a three-year certification as a Stroke Ready Center by Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program (HFAP), the nation's original independent, accreditation program. Certification confirms stroke care at Reid Health - Connersville is providing high quality care as determined by an independent, external process of evaluation.

The certification for the Connersville location came at the same time the Reid Health Primary Stroke Center also was reaccredited for another three years.

For its analysis, Healthgrades evaluated approximately 45 million Medicare inpatient records for nearly 4,500 short-term acute care hospitals nationwide to assess hospital performance in 32 common conditions and procedures, and evaluated outcomes in appendectomy and bariatric surgery using all-payer data provided by 16 states. Healthgrades recognizes a hospital's quality achievements for cohort-specific performance, specialty area performance, and overall clinical quality. Individual procedure or condition cohorts are designated as 5-star (statistically significantly better than expected), 3-star (not statistically different from expected) and 1-star (statistically significantly worse than expected). The complete Healthgrades 2021 Report to the Nation and detailed study methodology, can be found at https://partners.healthgrades.com/healthgrades-quality-solutions/healthgrades-quality-awards/.

* Statistics are based on Healthgrades analysis of MedPAR data for years 2017 through 2019 and represent three-year estimates for Medicare patients only. For appendectomy and bariatric surgery, Healthgrades used inpatient data from 16 states that provide all-payer data for years 2016 through 2018.