New Web site shines light on performance

Ohio Department of Health shares rankings of hospitals and state averages in more than 100 performance categories.

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By Kelly Mori, Staff Writer Updated 8:26 AM Thursday, January 7, 2010

SPRINGFIELD — Ohio residents can see how their local hospitals compare to others in the state via the Ohio Department of Health’s new “Hospital Compare” Web site.

The site, www.odh.ohio .gov, which launched Jan. 1, was mandated by the Ohio Legislature in H.B. 197, which was signed into law in August. The site provides information on more than 100 performance measures in areas such as heart attack care, infections and post surgery complication. Consumers can make side-by-side comparisons of hospitals of their choice.

The site currently contains data from January through December 2008. It will be updated semi-annually with the latest six months of data, according to the Ohio Department of Health release.

Springfield Regional Medical Center ranked higher than hospitals in Montgomery, Greene and Madison counties in the area of surgical site infections for open heart and C-section procedures, having no cases of infection in 2008. It also beat out all but Miami Valley Hospital in the area of open heart surgery mortality and angioplasty procedure mortality — reporting fewer than 10 deaths in both areas. It also ranked high in the area of providing pre-and-post surgery antibiotics.

The hospital did not rank as well in patient satisfaction, receiving the lowest ratings in the area for cleanliness, communication with doctors and nurses, and responsiveness of hospital staff.

It also received the lowest score when it came to patients’ willingness to recommend the hospital to others.

Hospital officials said they have introduced several initiatives since 2008 to improve patient care, including creating a new Heath Care Advisory Council, hiring two patient advocates, and adding patients to the quality committee of the board of directors.

Hospital spokesman James Senese said Springfield Regional supports the site’s transparency and the power it gives to patients. In addition, “it provides us the opportunity to measure ourselves against other top performing hospitals and to challenge ourselves to do an even better job of serving our patients,” he said.

Contact this reporter  at (937) 328-0347 or kmori@coxohio.com.

Your No. 1 local news source. SpringfieldNewsSun.com

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I too have known tragedy close to me at our local hospital, I know could have been prevented. However, I doubt that it would be any different anywhere else. Hospitals are dealing with high risk situations everyday. I hear cautions all the time and the advice to go out of town for high risk care. Springfield is on its way up. I believe the new hospital will operate at the highest level and we will all feel safe staying local. The better they are the more support they will have. Buy local.

Maybitwillchange
10:37 PM, 1/7/2010

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Easy to keep ranking up when you send the complicated cases out of town. SRMC dosen't have the staff to care for serious problems.

keep it real
10:33 PM, 1/7/2010

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If you want excellent care and outcomes go to Ohio Valley Medical Center, a Springfield hospital worth raving about. It's a shame many insurance companies are too tied to SRMC and won't let you have a choice.

want to stay local
2:46 PM, 1/7/2010

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My "experiences" are too awful for this forum. I could write a book.

scribbler
1:37 PM, 1/7/2010

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I think Gnosis means that sometimes lawyers suggest a client "not file a complaint" with a state medical board because they can 'get a bigger settlement' if they "sign" away their right to file a complaint. This practice should not be allowed as it would seem to jeopardize public safety by prohibiting freedom of "informed" choice in selecting a care provider. If this practice hasn't been abolished, it probably needs to be.

"CrookedLaw..."
1:30 PM, 1/7/2010

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