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Award demonstrates the Saint Alphonsus commitment to patient safety and quality care
Boise, Idaho – Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center has been named to the U.S. News & World Report annual list of Best Hospitals. Saint Alphonsus was ranked the number 1 hospital in the Treasure Valley. Of all twelve hospitals in the Boise metropolitan area, Saint Alphonsus received top billing. Additionally, Saint Alphonsus was nationally ranked in Diabetes & Endocrinology, Gynecology, Orthopedics, and Urology.
“We are so pleased to receive this important recognition,” said Sally Jeffcoat, President, and CEO of the Saint Alphonsus Health System. “When choosing a hospital for your family’s healthcare needs it is helpful to have tools like this available. Patient safety and superior quality healthcare is our primary focus and to receive this distinction validates our tireless efforts in this regard.”
Hard numbers stand behind the rankings in most specialties—death rates, patient safety, procedure volume, and other objective data. Responses to a national survey, in which physicians were asked to name hospitals they consider best in their specialty for the toughest cases, were also factored in.
The core mission of Best Hospitals is to help guide patients who need an especially high level of care because of a difficult surgery, a challenging condition, or added risk because of other health problems or age. “These are referral centers where other hospitals send their sickest patients,” said Avery Comarow, U.S. News Health Rankings Editor. “Hospitals like these are ones you or those close to you should consider when the stakes are high.”
Covering 94 metro areas in the U.S., the regional hospital rankings complement the national rankings by including hospitals with solid performance at the level of nationally ranked institutions. The regional rankings are aimed primarily at consumers whose care may not demand the special expertise found only at a nationally ranked Best Hospital or who may not be willing or able to travel long distances for medical care. The U.S. News metro rankings give many such patients and their families more options of hospitals within their community and in their health insurance network.
“These are hospitals we call ‘high performers.’ They are fully capable of giving most patients first-rate care, even if they have serious conditions or need demanding procedures,” Comarow said. “Almost every major metro area has at least one of these hospitals.”
The rankings cover 16 medical specialties and all 94 metro areas that have at least 500,000 residents and at least one hospital that performed well enough to be ranked.
The rankings have been published each year for the last 22 years and are featured in the U.S. News Best Hospitals Guidebook on sale on August 30, 2011. The information is also available online at www.usnews.com/besthospitals.
About Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center
Saint Alphonsus is a 387-licensed bed regional medical center serving people throughout the Northwest. As a not-for-profit medical center, Saint Alphonsus reinvests profits back into the community and works to improve the health and well-being of those we serve by emphasizing care that is patient-centered, innovative and community-based. Saint Alphonsus focuses on providing services in a spiritual, healing environment, and is renowned for its state-of-the-art digital environment and pioneering technologies; award-winning clinical services; and the region’s only Level II Trauma Center. Saint Alphonsus is part of Saint Alphonsus Health System, a four-hospital, 714-bed integrated healthcare system serving the full range of the health and wellness needs of the people in southwestern Idaho, eastern Oregon and northern Nevada. Saint Alphonsus Health System is a member of Trinity Health. For information about Saint Alphonsus visit www.saintalphonsus.org.