By: Robert Remler
The sixth annual "HealthGrades Hospital Quality in America Study" analyzes and rates procedures and diagnoses in the nation's nearly 5,000 hospitals, with fewer than 15 percent of hospitals meriting a five star rating in a given category. This is the third year in a row that the hospital has received a five star score for knee replacement surgery. Overall, the hospital's ratings place it among the top 10 percent in the nation for joint surgery."Our focus is to provide the community with the best care possible," said Martin Bieber, Interim President and Chief Executive Officer at Mercy Medical Center. "To have an independent study validate our efforts is especially gratifying. This is a credit to the everyday efforts of our physicians, nurses, and staff, and is important information for area residents who seek and deserve the highest quality of care." HealthGrade developed the study and ratings information to help consumers understand the differences in care from hospital to hospital. The ratings are available free to consumers at www.healthgrades.com."Consumers continue to ask for more and better information to help them in their healthcare decision making," said Dr. Samantha Collier, HealthGrades' vice president of medical affairs. "Our analysis provides an apples-to-apples comparison of hospital performance by procedure, and it is evident that there is a significant variance between individual hospitals. For Mercy Medical Center to score as well as it did reflects the efforts of everyone in the organization, and should be very comforting to area residents."The hospital quality ratings are compiled annually using three years of the most currently available Medical patient data licensed from the federal government's Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), part of the Department of Health and Human Services. To create its ratings system, HealthGrades compares the actual and predicted mortality or complication rates for specific procedures and diagnoses. HealthGrades then assigns a one, three or five-star rating for performance level. The data is risk-adjusted to ensure that hospitals are compared equitably, regardless of the severity of their patient populations. A five-star rating indicates performance better than expected and among the best in the nation. The study's methodology is available at www.healthgrades.com.
Local named to board of Hispanic Counseling Center
Winthrop-University Hospital's Deborah Johnson of Oceanside, BS, RN, CNN, Vice President, Adminstration, has been appointed to the board of directors of the Hispanic Counseling Center of Hempstead. This appointment further solidifies Winthrop's close ties to the Hispanic community and the Hospital's role in providing the underserved throughout Long Island with affordable, quality healthcare services.Johnson's involvement with the Hispanic Counseling Center began through their collaboration with Winthrop's Diga Si A La Buena Salud (Say Yes to Good Health) initiative, designed to help minority communities overcome barriers to healthcare. Through this relationship the Hispanic Counseling Center has helped Winthrop further identify the needs of the Hispanic population in the community it serves, and has been an active participant of the Diga Si A La Buena Salud health fair each spring at Winthrop. As a member of the Hispanic Counseling Center's board of directors, Johnson will assist the organization in moving forward with their mission of serving the Hispanic community's needs by working toward advancing the Center's scholarship program, which helps send children to special summer programs. In addition, Ms. Johnson will assist in identifying additional sources of financing for the Center-sponsored after school program. Johnson received her degree in nursing from Queens Hospital Center School of Nursing and her Bachelor of Science degree in Health Administration from St. Joseph's College, joined the Winthrop team in 1983 as a staff nurse. She went to achieve several leadership nursing roles in dialysis and renal services where she proved an invaluable member of the nephrology health care team. In 1994 she took on the role of Administrative Director for Winthrop's Division of Mephrology and Hypertension and, in addition to her current position as Vice President of Administration for the Hospital, continues to serve as the Administrator for Women's Health and Nephrology Services.Possessing a strong desire to bridge the gap between accessible and affordable healthcare and the minority population on Long Island, Johnson is active in a number of important minority healthcare committees. These include the Coalition to Eliminate Racial & Ethnic Disparities in Healthcare, the Nassau County Department of Health Minority Health Task Force, and the Girl Scouts of Nassau County Minority Task Force. She was also the recipient of the Coalition for Community Well Being, Inc.'s 2002 community service award.
