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Spectrum Health Named One of Nation’s Top Ten Health Systems

Only System in Michigan to Receive Honor

Spectrum Health was named one of the nation’s top 10 health systems today in an annual study analyzing clinical and financial performance. Spectrum Health was the only health system in Michigan to receive the “Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospitals: Health System Benchmarks” honor.

Researchers from the Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospitals® program analyzed the clinical quality and efficiency of 255 health systems to identify the top 10.

“This recognition is an honor and it reflects how well the entire system is performing,” said Spectrum Health President & CEO Richard C. Breon. “The fact that we are one of 10 in the nation and the only health system in Michigan to earn this award is tremendous reflection on the efforts of physicians and staff at all of our facilities.  We are being recognized for our improved outcomes and our systemwide focus on quality improvement. This translates to better care and better value for the patients we serve.”

The Thomson Reuters study assessed all U.S. health systems with two or more short-term, general, non-federal hospitals. Researchers looked at eight metrics that gauge clinical quality and efficiency: mortality, medical complications, patient safety, average length of stay, adherence to clinical standards of care (evidence-based core measures published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services), 30-day mortality rate, 30-day readmission rate, and HCAHPS patient satisfaction score.

The top health systems were announced in the June 21 edition of Modern Healthcare magazine.

“These health systems outperformed their peers by a wide margin,” said Jean Chenoweth, senior vice president for performance improvement and 100 Top Hospitals programs at Thomson Reuters. “They provided better care, saved more lives, had fewer medical complications, and made fewer patient safety errors – even though they treat sicker patients, on average. They set the standard for the industry.”

The Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospitals: Health System Benchmarks is an annual, quantitative study. With objective, independent research using public data sources, they identify the 10 health systems setting the highest benchmarks on a modified 100 Top Hospitals Balanced Scorecard focused on clinical quality and efficiency.

The winners of this award outperformed their peers by providing better care, following standards of care more closely, saving more lives, creating fewer patient complications, making fewer patient safety errors, and earning better overall patient satisfaction scores.

This year’s top health systems had:

  • 12.3% fewer mortalities than peer systems
  • 13.2% fewer complications than peer systems
  • 5.4% better patient safety than their peers
  • Patients returning home sooner – with an average length of stay more than half a day shorter than at similar systems – and with better longer-term outcomes than other health systems.

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 eight hospitals and more than 140 service sites; the Spectrum Health Medical Group, mmpc® and West Michigan Heart-physician groups totaling more than 400 providers; and Priority Health, a health plan with nearly 580,000 members. Spectrum Health’s 16,000 employees, 1,500 medical staff members and 2,000 volunteers are committed to delivering the highest quality care. The organization provided $79.4 million in community benefit during its 2009 fiscal year. As a system, Spectrum Health has earned more than 100 awards since it was formed in 1997.