Spectrum Health Among Top Health Systems

Study Places Spectrum Health System in Top 50 Health Systems in the U.S.

Spectrum Health has been recognized as one of the top 50 health systems in the U.S. in a new report from Thomson Reuters. 100 Top Hospitals:’ Health Systems Quality/Efficiency Benchmarks Study that was published in this week’s Modern Healthcare magazine.

The study examined 252 health systems with a total of 1,720 hospitals. The top 50 comprised the top 20 percent of the systems studied. Five performance measures were used:’ mortality, complications, patient safety, length of stay and use of evidence-based practices.

“Rankings such as these can be one indication of how a system is performing,” said Rick Breon, Spectrum Health system president and CEO. “Physicians and staff across our entire system provide a high level of quality care.”

The study noted that there was a significant difference in performance between the top 50 and the bottom 50 health systems. Among the findings:

The top 50 systems had a mortality rate that was 25 percent less than the bottom 50 health systems.
The complication rate was 19 percent less for top 50 health systems.
The patient safety index was 13 percent better for top 50 health systems.
Patients at top 50 systems had a 16 percent shorter length of stay.

“This award is evidence that our system-wide focus on quality and patient safety is working,” said John Byrnes, MD, vice president system quality.’ “Innovative quality and safety programs have been part of our system-wide strategy for more than 10 years. This demonstrates our commitment to providing top quality care to patients throughout West Michigan.”

Study data came from two sources:’ CMS’ Hospital Compare and Medicare Provider Analysis and Review or MedPAR.’ Thomson Reuters provides industry information and analysis to a number of fields, including health care.

Spectrum Health is a not-for-profit health system in West Michigan that offers a full continuum of care through the Spectrum Health Hospital Group, a collection of seven hospitals and more than 140 service sites; the Spectrum Health Medical Group, a multispecialty team of nearly 100 providers; and Priority Health, a health plan with nearly 500,000 members. Spectrum Health also has a multispecialty physician group, mmpc, which has more than 300 health care providers serving patients in more than 30 specialties. Spectrum Health’s 17,000 employees, 1,500 medical staff members and 2,000 volunteers are committed to delivering the highest quality care to those in medical need. The organization provided $111.1 million in community benefit during its 2008 fiscal year. As a system, Spectrum Health has earned more than 100 awards during the past 10 years.