July 15, 2003
HACKENSACK UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER EARNS HEALTHGRADES® DISTINGUISHED HOSPITAL AWARD FOR CLINICAL EXCELLENCE 


On the heels of Hackensack University Medical Center’s recent acknowledgements for performance excellence, comes an overall hospital quality distinction that truly places it among the nation’s elite. HealthGrades, the national healthcare quality firm has announced that Hackensack University Medical Center has received the 2003 HealthGrades Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence™. The award places Hackensack University Medical Center among a group of less than 200 hospitals nationally who are at the pinnacle of quality performance across numerous clinical service lines.

The latest nationwide analysis evaluated hospitals’ clinical quality across 20 procedures and diagnoses in six clinical specialties: cardiac surgery, cardiology, orthopedic surgery, neuroscience, pulmonary, and vascular surgery. HealthGrades statistically aggregated the individual procedure and diagnosis ratings to create a hospital-wide evaluation of overall clinical quality. Only full-service hospitals that score among the top 20 percent nationwide are eligible for the Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence; this equates to only 3.3 percent of the nation’s total of approximately 5,000 hospitals.

In addition to receiving the 2003 HealthGrades Distinguished Hospital Award, HealthGrades rated Hackensack University Medical Center highly in several specialty areas. The hospital was ranked among the top ten percent of hospitals nationally for overall cardiac services, and achieved a top five percent national designation for cardiology services. Stroke care at the hospital was ranked among the top five percent of hospitals nationally.

“This should be very fulfilling for our physicians, staff, and for the community,” said Hackensack University Medical Center’s President and Chief Executive Officer John P. Ferguson. “We’ve worked so hard to provide the communities we serve with quality care and service. It’s wonderful to see the hard work pay off. This recognition supports what we’ve believed all along, that we are indeed among the best providers not only in the region, but across the nation.” 

Hackensack University Medical Center is one of the first two hospitals in the nation to receive The Governor’s Gold Award for Performance Excellence. The Quality New Jersey’s 2001 award is based on the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award established by the U.S. Congress in 1987 to improve organizational performance and to enhance the nation’s ability in the global marketplace. This is the highest award level and indicative that the medical center has sound systematic approaches and fact-based improvement processes in place.

For seven years in a row and since the award’s inception Hackensack University Medical Center has been chosen by consumers as the hospital of choice in Bergen and Passaic counties. This accomplishment, based on a survey of more than 140,000 households nationwide, is another testament to the medical center's overall reputation for excellence in the community. The National Research Corporation of Lincoln, Nebraska conducts the survey each year.

In 1995, the medical center became the first hospital in the country – after the pilot program - to receive the Magnet Award for Nursing Excellence. This honor is the highest recognition that can be bestowed by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. The medical center received redesignation as a Magnet Hospital in 1999 and another four-year designation in 2003.

HealthGrades is a healthcare-quality ratings, information and advisory services company whose clients include healthcare providers, employers, health plans, insurance companies and consumers. With its proprietary, objective provider ratings and expert advisory services, HealthGrades is creating the standard for healthcare quality. HealthGrades provides its clients with targeted solutions that enable them to measure, assess, enhance and market healthcare quality. HealthGrades can be accessed through the Internet at www.healthgrades.com.

Hackensack University Medical Center, a teaching and research hospital affiliated with the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey - New Jersey Medical School and a member of the New Jersey Council of Teaching Hospitals, is the largest provider of inpatient and outpatient services in the state of New Jersey. Founded in 1888 with 12 beds and as Bergen County's first hospital, Hackensack University Medical Center has demonstrated more than a century of growth and progress. Now a 683-bed, not-for-profit, tertiary-care, teaching and research hospital that serves as the hub of healthcare for Bergen County, northern New Jersey, and New York, the medical center continues to grow in response to the needs of the communities it serves. For more information visit us at www.humc.com. 
HealthGrades, the national healthcare quality firm announces that Hackensack University Medical Center has received the 2003 HealthGrades Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence™. Pictured, from left: Virender Sethi, M.D., chief, Cardiac Cath Lab, Hackensack University Medical Center; John P. Ferguson, president and chief executive officer, HUMC; Pete Sheehan, consultant, HealthGrades®; and Richard Davies, M.D., chairman, Department of Surgery, HUMC.

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