Waterbury Hospital Receives Five-Star Rating In Orthopedics

Waterbury — Waterbury Hospital has received five-star ratings for clinical quality and performance excellence in orthopedics, according to a new study released by HealthGrades, the Lakewood, Colo.-based health care quality company.

The hospital’s ratings place it among the top five percent in the nation for orthopedics, joint-replacement surgery that includes hip and knee replacement, back and neck surgery, spinal fusion, and overall orthopedics. In Connecticut, Waterbury’s rating places it among the top two hospitals for orthopedics.

“We’ve known for a long time that we have excellent orthopedic surgeons, as good as any in the country,” said Steven E. Schneider, MD, vice president for medical affairs. “When an independent organization such as HealthGrades provides the data to back that up, it’s very exciting and rewarding. It demonstrates the quality care that our physicians, nurses, and staff give to the patients and families of Connecticut every day.”

As part of its seventh annual Hospital Quality in America Study, HealthGrades independently analyzed nearly 5,000 hospitals in all 50 states and the District of Columbia for its 2005 ratings, objectively assessing their clinical outcomes, performance, and quality. The HealthGrades ratings measure whether patient outcomes for each of more than two dozen procedures and diagnoses are better than expected (five-star), as expected (three-star) or worse than expected (one star). Earning a five-star designation indicates that a hospital has scored in the top 15 percent or better in the nation for clinical quality.

“HealthGrades objectively assesses and rates hospital performance in order to help consumers make better and more informed healthcare choices,” explained Sarah Loughran, HealthGrades executive vice president. “With consumers having a greater stake in their health care purchasing decisions, it’s important for them to know that there is a tremendous difference in clinical quality outcomes between hospitals.”

Waterbury Hospital received a five-star rating for each of the following categories: overall orthopedics; joint-replacement surgery; total hip replacement; hip fracture repair; total knee replacement, back and neck surgery, and spinal fusion.

Each year, Waterbury Hospital’s Orthopaedic Service performs more than 700 orthopedic surgeries, making it among the busiest joint-replacement centers in New England. Over the last 30 years, the hospital’s orthopedic surgeons have pioneered the advancement of minimally invasive hip replacement and participated in FDA studies leading to the approval of the ceramic hip, a highly durable prosthesis often used in younger, more active patients.

The 2005 HealthGrades ratings for all hospitals nationwide are available on the web at www.healthgrades.com. More than one million unique users and the employees of more than 125 major employers visit the HealthGrades website every month to access quality information about hospitals, nursing homes, and physicians. HealthGrades also provides consumers and payers with detailed assessments of hospitals’ patient-safety outcomes, based on indicators developed by the US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.