PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Medical Center is 5-star rated for Carotid Procedures, Respiratory Failure and treatment of Sepsis according to new research released by Healthgrades, the leading resource that connects consumers, physicians and health systems. 

 

"Consumers are increasingly becoming aware of the differences of care provided by different hospitals. Consumers can feel confident that hospitals receiving a Healthgrades 5-star rating have demonstrated exceptional outcomes and their ability to provide quality care," said Brad Bowman, Chief Medical Officer and Head of Data Science at Healthgrades.

 

Every year, Healthgrades evaluates hospital performance at nearly 4,500 hospitals nationwide for 31 of the most common inpatient procedures and conditions.*

 

This analysis shows that patients treated at hospitals receiving a 5-star rating have a lower risk of mortality and a lower risk of experiencing one or more complications during a hospital stay than if they were treated at hospitals receiving a 1-star rating in that procedure or condition. From 2018 through 2020, if all hospitals as a group performed similarly to hospitals receiving 5-stars as a group, on average, 218,141 lives could potentially have been saved, and complications in 156,050 patients could potentially have been avoided.*

 

Additionally, from 2018-2020, patients treated for Respiratory Failure in hospitals with 5-stars for in-hospital mortality have, on average 50 percent lower risk of dying than if they were treated in hospitals with 1-star for in-house mortality.* Similarly, patients treated for Sepsis in hospitals with 1-star for in-hospital mortality are, on average, 1.6 times more likely to die than if they were treated in hospitals with 5-stars for in-hospital mortality.* Furthermore, patients having Carotid Procedures in hospitals with 5-stars have, on average 64 percent lower risk of experiencing a complication while in the hospital than if they were treated by hospitals with 1-star.*

 

"Our team of providers is committed to the highest level of care, and these recognitions by Healthgrades validate that commitment on a daily basis," said James Lederer, Chief Medical Officer/Chief Quality Officer of Berkshire Health Systems. "Our community can be confident that our physicians, nurses, technologists, pharmacists and all of our staff are singularly focused on providing the highest quality care for each individual who comes through our doors."

 

For its analysis, Healthgrades evaluated approximately 45 million Medicare inpatient records for nearly 4,500 short-term acute care hospitals nationwide to assess hospital performance in 31 common conditions and procedures and evaluated outcomes in appendectomy and bariatric surgery using all-payer data provided by 16 states. Healthgrades recognizes a hospital's quality achievements for cohort-specific performance, specialty area performance, and overall clinical quality. Individual procedure or condition cohorts are designated as 5-star (statistically significantly better than expected), 3-star (not statistically different from expected), and 1-star (statistically significantly worse than expected).

 

* Statistics are based on Healthgrades analysis of MedPAR data for years 2018 through 2020 and represent three-year estimates for Medicare patients only. For appendectomy and bariatric surgery, Healthgrades used inpatient data from 16 states that provide all-payer data for years 2017 through 2019. Due to the highly variable impact of the pandemic on hospital outcomes, Healthgrades made the decision to exclude cases with a COVID-19 diagnosis from the 2020 data in order to preserve the statistical integrity of our models and fairly evaluate clinical outcomes at all hospitals. To view the complete methodology, please visit: https://www.healthgrades.com/quality/ratings-awards/methodology