Cooley Dickinson Lauded for Work in Gynecologic Surgery

NORTHAMPTON — Cooley Dickinson Hospital announced that is has been named one of a select group of hospitals—the top 10{06cf2b9696b159f874511d23dbc893eb1ac83014175ed30550cfff22781411e5} of the hospitals evaluated — providing outstanding performance in gynecologic surgery, as measured by Healthgrades, the leading online resource that helps consumers search, evaluate, compare, and connect with physician and hospitals.

“Our doctors, nurses, allied-health professionals, and staff make delivering better-quality care to their patients a daily habit at Cooley Dickinson,” said Craig Melin, President and CEO. “Achieving five stars in gynecologic surgery is validation from an independent reviewer of our staff’s focus on improving the quality of care.

“Ultimately, women who choose a Cooley Dickinson surgeon for gyn surgery benefit most from our safety efforts because they are less likely to experience complications at Cooley Dickinson,” he added.

Gynecologic surgery includes surgery on the female reproductive system to treat benign tumors, cancer, infertility, incontinence, and various other conditions.

Hysterectomy accounted for the majority (75.4{06cf2b9696b159f874511d23dbc893eb1ac83014175ed30550cfff22781411e5}) of all procedures evaluated. To help consumers evaluate and compare hospital performance in gynecologic surgery, Healthgrades analyzed patient-outcome data for all patients (all-payer data) provided by 18 individual states for years 2009 through 2011. Developing the Healthgrades Gynecologic Surgery ratings involved four steps:

• First, the predicted value (predicted complications) was obtained using a logistic regression model;

• Second, the predicted value was compared with the actual or observed number of complications;

• Third, a test was conducted to determine whether the difference between the predicted and actual values was statistically significant; and

• Fourth, hospital performance was stratified into one of three performance categories denoted by stars.

There is a significant variation in quality for gynecologic surgery. From 2009 through 2011, patients treated in hospitals receiving five stars for gynecologic surgery have, on average, a 54.8{06cf2b9696b159f874511d23dbc893eb1ac83014175ed30550cfff22781411e5} lower risk of experiencing complications than if they were treated in hospitals receiving one star. From 2009 through 2011, if all hospitals performed similarly to hospitals receiving five stars in gynecologic surgery, 27,887 in-hospital complications could have been avoided (women having these types of surgeries could have potentially avoided in-hospital complications).

“Hospitals achieved this distinction by providing better-than-expected outcomes in gynecologic surgery over an extended period of time,” said Dr. Brad Bowman, chief medical officer, Healthgrades. “Women can expect a commitment to exceptional clinical quality care in gynecological surgery when selecting among Healthgrades 2013 Gynecologic Surgery Excellence Award recipients.”

In addition to being recognized for top-10{06cf2b9696b159f874511d23dbc893eb1ac83014175ed30550cfff22781411e5} outcomes in gynecologic surgery, CDH is the only hospital in Massachusetts to receive the Healthgrades Patient Safety Excellence Award for five years in a row (2009-13).

For additional details on the Gynecologic Surgery Excellence Award recipients, see the complete “Healthgrades Women’s Health Report 2013: ‘Lean In’ When Making Healthcare Decisions to Get Your Best Outcome” at www.healthgrades.com/quality.