Recognized for outstanding clinical performance by HealthGrades the leading independent healthcare ratings company

Glenwood Regional Medical Center is ranked among the nation’s top five percent of hospitals, according to an independent study of mortality and complication rates for nearly 5,000 hospitals released today by HealthGrades, the nation’s leading healthcare ratings company. Glenwood, one of only two hospitals in the state to receive the Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence, was also a recipient of the award in 2008, 2006 and 2005.

Glenwood Regional Medical Center has achieved HealthGrades’ 2009 Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence TM based on its clinical quality performance. According to the HealthGrades study, patients admitted to a hospital receiving this award are, on average, 27 percent less likely to die and 8 percent less likely to suffer from a major complication. This year, only 270 of the nation’s nearly 5,000 nonfederal hospitals will receive this distinction.

The HealthGrades study also found that Distinguished Hospitals for Clinical Excellence™ are improving their patient outcomes at a greater rate in more procedures and diagnoses than all other hospitals, lowering riskadjusted mortality rates over the years 2005, 2006 and 2007 by an average of 18%.

“The hospitals that have been designated as Distinguished Hospitals for Clinical Excellence have, across the board, been leaders in their commitment to delivering the highest quality patient care. Consumers can choose where they receive their healthcare and our study again highlights the tremendous disparity in quality between hospitals,” said Rick May, MD, HealthGrades senior physician consultant.

In addition to the Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence™, Glenwood Regional Medical Center has a variety of 2009 clinical achievements including:

• Ranked Among the Top 10% in the Nation for Cardiac Surgery Four Years in a Row
• FiveStar Rated for Cardiac Surgery and Coronary Bypass Surgery – Four Years in a Row
• FiveStar Rated for Valve Replacement Surgery – Three Years in a Row
• FiveStar Rated for Hip Fracture Repair – Three Years in a Row
• FiveStar Rated for Total Knee Replacement – Two Years in a Row
• FiveStar Rated for Carotid Surgery – Two Years in a Row
• Ranked Among the Top 5 in LA for GI Services, GI Surgery, GI Medical Treatment and Overall Critical Care Services
• Best Rated in the Monroe Area* for GI Services, GI Surgery and GI Medical Treatment
• FiveStar Rated for GI Surgery and Cholecystectomy
• FiveStar Rated for Treatment of GI Bleed Three Years in a Row
• FiveStar Rated for Treatment of Pulmonary Embolism and Respiratory Failure Two Years in a Row

This is the seventh year that HealthGrades has independently analyzed the clinical quality performance of all nonfederal hospitals across the country in 26 procedures and diagnoses. In the Distinguished Hospital Study, the company reviewed nearly 41 million hospitalization records from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, over the years 2005, 2006 and 2007. All hospitals that participate in the Medicare program were part of the independent study. Hospitals that receive the HealthGrades Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence TM are those hospitals that rank in the top five percent when all 26 individual scores are aggregated into an overall score.

“At Glenwood Regional Medical Center, we have a skillful and dedicated team of clinicians and employees,” said Ron Elder, CEO. “It is because of their hard work and commitment that our patients and their families receive quality healthcare that is among the best in the nation.”