Four of Providence Southern California’s medical centers received Healthgrades’ Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence in January. Providence is the first health system in the state to have all of its eligible hospitals recognized by the award.

Providence Holy Cross, Providence Saint Joseph and Providence Tarzana in the San Fernando Valley and Providence Little Company of Mary in Torrance were named Distinguished Hospitals. The award measures each hospital’s performance on addressing 27 of the most common diagnoses and procedures.

The four Providence hospitals are among 262 medical centers recognized by Healthgrades as Distinguished Hospitals, the top 5 percent in the nation.

Providence Little Company of Mary in San Pedro, the fifth Providence medical center in the Southern California Region, was not eligible to compete for this award, according to a Providence press release

“We are proud to be recognized by Healthgrades for our successes in providing the best care for our patients,” said Michael Hunn, senior vice president and chief executive for Providence Southern California.

He attributed Providence’s success to their long-standing values.

“Every Providence caregiver stands on the shoulders of our founding sisters, whose 157-year tradition of excellence and compassion lives today in all our ministries” Hunn said.

Distinguished hospitals, as a group, have a 30.9 percent lower risk-adjusted in-hospital mortality rate across 18 conditions and procedures as compared to all other U.S. hospitals evaluated, the Providence press release said.

The study period for the 2014 award was 2010-2012.

“If all other hospitals performed at the level of Distinguished Hospitals for Clinical Excellence during this time, 156,036 lives could have potentially been saved,” a Healthgrades press release said.

Healthgrades officials say that the goal of the award and their entire site is to help patients make informed decisions about where they go for medical care.

While some hospitals provide excellent care in select areas, distinguished hospitals are chosen because they provide excellent care across the board.

“Consumers should know before they go,” said Dr. Archelle Georgiou, a strategic advisor to Healthgrades. “We have shown that all hospitals are not created equal, and selecting the right physician or hospital can mean the difference between having a complication-free surgery or hospitalization. It can even be a matter of life or death.”

About Providence Health & Services

Providence Health & Services, Southern California, is a Catholic nonprofit, mission-driven health care system with more than 3,400 physicians. Providence Southern California operates five award-winning hospitals and a comprehensive, fully-integrated network of primary care clinics, urgent care centers, home care, TrinityCare and TrinityKids Care hospice as well as Providence High School.

Providence is anchored locally by Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, Providence Tarzana Medical Center and Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Centers in Torrance and San Pedro.

About Healthgrades

Healthgrades, headquartered in Denver, Colo., is a leading online source of comprehensive information about physicians and hospitals. More than 200 million consumers use the HealthGrades websites to search, evaluate, compare and connect with physicians and hospitals that best meet their treatment needs.

Healthgrades desires to empower consumers through proprietary information about clinical outcomes, satisfaction, safety and health conditions to make more informed healthcare decisions and take action.