Mountain View, CA - August 19, 2013 - El Camino Hospital today announced that it is one of only 48 hospitals in the U.S. to receive the Healthgrades 2013 Bariatric Surgery Excellence Award™, which recognizes the top 10% of hospitals evaluated for their performance in bariatric surgery based on volumes and low complication rates. This is the fifth consecutive year that El Camino Hospital has been ranked in the top 10% for bariatric surgery. Additionally, the hospital has maintained its five-star rating for bariatric surgery for seven consecutive years. According to the Healthgrades report, five-star rated hospitals had 71% lower complication rates compared to one-star hospitals.
"We are honored to be among the top hospitals in the nation for bariatric surgery," said Prithvi Legha, M.D., director of the Bariatric Surgery Program at El Camino Hospital, "As a community hospital, wellness is one of our top priorities, and our team of specially trained bariatric surgeons, nurses and dieticians are leading the way in innovative and life-saving procedures and support services for obesity."
"Recent data on obesity prevalence in the United States shows that more than one-third, or roughly 78 million Americans are now obese. For those consumers considering bariatric surgery, the Healthgrades report underscores the importance of understanding all of one’s treatment options and the need to select a hospital accordingly," said Evan Marks, EVP, Strategy and Clinical Informatics, Healthgrades. "The Healthgrades 2013 Bariatric Surgery Award recipients have demonstrated exceptional performance and a dedicated approach when it comes to bariatric care."
For the report, Healthgrades analyzed clinical outcomes of 204,069 bariatric surgery discharges from 467 hospitals in 18 states where data are publicly available from 2009 through 2011. Healthgrades measured hospital performance based on risk-adjusted in-hospital complications—preventable problems patients had during their hospital stay. Patients having bariatric surgery at hospitals with 5-star performance in bariatric surgery are 71% less likely to experience in-hospital complications than patients at hospitals with 1-star and 46% less likely at hospitals with 3-stars. If all hospitals from 2009 through 2011 had performed at the level of hospitals with 5-stars, 6,417 patients could have potentially avoided a major in-hospital complication.
To see the complete Healthgrades 2013 Bariatric Surgery Report: Your Choices Influence Your Outcome, including full methodology, please visit: www.healthgrades.com/quality.
About Healthgrades
Healthgrades, headquartered in Denver, Colorado, is the leading online resource for comprehensive information about physicians and hospitals. More than 225 million visitors use the Healthgrades websites to search, evaluate, compare and connect with physicians and hospitals that best meet their treatment needs. Consumers are empowered through use of the Healthgrades proprietary information about clinical outcomes, satisfaction, safety, and health conditions to make more informed healthcare decisions and take action. For more information please visit www.healthgrades.com.
About El Camino Hospital
El Camino Hospital is an acute-care, 443-bed, nonprofit and locally governed organization with campuses in Mountain View and Los Gatos, Calif. In addition to state-of-the-art emergency departments, key medical specialties include heart and vascular, cancer care, urology, orthopedic and spine, genomic medicine, and the only Women’s Hospital in Northern California. The hospital is recognized as a national leader in the use of health information technology and wireless communications, and has been awarded the Gold Seal of Approval from The Joint Commission as a Primary Stroke Center as well as back-to-back ANCC Magnet Recognitions for Nursing Care.