Hazel Hawkins Hospital’s patient mortality rates were at or
below those of 334 other hospitals in California for four of six
reported procedures or conditions in 2009, according to a new
report designed to improve transparency.
Compared with the 2008 results, however, the hospital’s
mortality rates rose in four of those six categories
year-to-year.
The results, compiled by the California Office of Statewide
Health Planning and Development, compared mortality rates in 12
categories, from pneumonia and hip fractures to strokes and
craniotomies.
Hazel Hawkins Hospital’s patient mortality rates were at or below those of 334 other hospitals in California for four of six reported procedures or conditions in 2009, according to a new report designed to improve transparency.
Compared with the 2008 results, however, the hospital’s mortality rates rose in four of those six categories year-to-year.
The results, compiled by the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, compared mortality rates in 12 categories, from pneumonia and hip fractures to strokes and craniotomies.
The report is part of a national movement toward more transparency in health care for patients, insurers and employers and helping hospitals identify areas in which they can improve.
“Transparency is a nationwide trend,” said Frankie Arballo, marketing director for Hazel Hawkins.
The national debate over health care reform has spurred discussion of ways to improve patient care and to help consumers make more informed decisions.
The reputation of Hazel Hawkins, for example, is affected by word of mouth and performance indicators from patient-satisfaction surveys, Arballo said.
“There are various indicators of how people access their healthcare and deem a hospital a quality facility to go to,” she said.
To “level the playing field” and allow fair comparisons between all hospitals, mortality researchers adjusted rates to take into account risk factors such as a patient’s age and other health problems. They then noted which hospitals had death rates significantly better or worse than the state averages.
Hazel Hawkins’ mortality rates did not vary greatly from statewide numbers in 2009, the most recent year for which data is available.
According to the report, the hospital treated eight patients for acute myocardial infarction and had zero patient deaths, a rate 7.1 percent below the state figure.
The hospital also had lower mortality rates for congestive heart failure (two deaths in 63 cases; 2.6 percent) and acute stroke (two deaths in 34 cases; 9.1 percent). It had the same mortality rate – 2.3 percent – as the state average for gastro-intestinal hemorrhage (one death in 48 cases).
Hazel Hawkins in 2009 had a higher mortality rate than the state number for hip fracture cases – 10.4 percent compared to the 2.4 percent state rate – and pneumonia, in which six of 96 cases resulted in death (a 7.6 percent rate compared to the state rate of 4.6 percent.)
Compared with 2008, the hospital’s patient mortality rate rose for stroke, gastro-intestinal hemorrhage, hip fractures and pneumonia, stayed the same for acute myocardial infarction and dropped for congestive heart failure.
Statistics for all facilities can be found online at www.oshpd.ca.gov and clicking on Hospital Inpatient Mortality Indicators for California, 2008 and 2009.
One of the report’s authors said that the rankings are not a definitive measure of quality, but said it is one factor for consumers and others to consider.
“We don’t believe that by itself, this information should be used to make decisions about where to go for care,” said Joseph Parker, manager of the state Healthcare Outcomes Center. “But when combined with other information from reliable sources or family or friends, it can inform decision making.”
Marilouise Salsiccia, director of quality assurance for Hazel Hawkins, said the information in the mortality rate report will be shared with the hospital’s quality committee, medical staff and board of directors.
The hospital has quality committees and medical staff committees that meet monthly and then provide information to the board.
“If we’ve identified an area that is an opportunity for improvement, then we’ll go ahead and make that change,” she said.
The Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development’s report may provide a more accurate look at patient care than information contained in some websites that provide mortality rate percentages, but not the actual number of patients treated compared with those who die. Some information on other sites may be outdated, which affects its credibility, Salsiccia said.
“With a facility this small, the numerator and denominator (the number of patients treated compared with those who die) makes a difference,” she said.
Salsiccia said people who have questions about a hospital should call the facility to ask for information and also ask their physician for input.
Pinnacle wire services contributed to this report.
