Hospitals rank among ‘Great Community Hospitals’ in US

Hospitals rank among ‘Great Community Hospitals’ in US

Holland Hospital serves communities in Ottawa and Allegan counties with its 189-bed main campus and off-site locations. Photo via fb.com

A trio of hospitals in the region are considered among the greatest community hospitals in the country.

Becker’s Hospital Review said last month that it has released the 2015 edition of its ranking of the “100 Great Community Hospitals” in the U.S., which recognizes Holland Hospital, Spectrum Health Zeeland Community Hospital and Lakeland Medical Center in St. Joseph.

Munson Medical Center in Traverse City is the other Michigan-based community hospital in the ranking.

Methodology

Mark Pawlak, SVP of quality, information systems and hospital operations at Holland Hospital, said the hospital has been featured on the ranking by Becker’s Hospital Review each year since it began in 2011.

“Their methodology is one where they look at the work of many other entities out there that do hospital ratings and then coalesce all that information and have a panel of experts who review it,” Pawlak said. “So it is our position on all of those other lists that places us in a position to be on that top 100 list. Every one of these companies has a different lens they look at to evaluate the quality of health care. ”

The “100 Great Community Hospitals” ranking features organizations comprising fewer than 550 beds and minimal teaching programs, including suburban and rural organizations.

Several of the existing hospital rankings and awards taken into consideration when compiling the list include those from Truven Health Analytics, Healthgrades, CareChex and iVantage Health Analytics.

Holland

Holland Hospital has 189 beds and has earned other accolades: “100 Top Hospitals” by Truven Health Analytics; 50 best hospitals in the country by Healthgrades; a HealthStrong Hospital designation by iVantage Health Analytics; and a Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence by Healthgrades.

With the number of accolades the hospital has received, Pawlak said its success on the evaluations comes down to its culture, which emphasizes leadership and how all the employees view their roles and responsibilities to deliver excellence.

“It begins with the experience as a patient and then it goes into how effectively we have treated you for what you came in here for and has your outcome been what you expected,” Pawlak said. “No matter which area you look at, everyone is doing their best, and we define the best as extremely high level of excellence. And when you deliver that through your staff, leaders and physicians, you end up with excellent results.”

Zeeland

Spectrum Health Zeeland Community Hospital has 57 beds and a team of roughly 250 physicians, 425 employees and 120 volunteers.

The hospital has received the Outstanding Patient Experience Award from Healthgrades each year since 2013 and been awarded the Patient Safety Excellence Award by Healthgrades for three consecutive years.

St. Joseph

Lakeland Medical Center has 204 beds and houses the Frederick S. Upton Education Center.

The hospital has been recognized by iVantage Health Analytics, Healthgrades and received the Governor’s Award of Excellence for Outstanding Inpatient Clinical Achievement in the Acute-Care Hospital Setting.