[Providence] – Providence Holy Cross Medical Center is the top-rated hospital serving the northern San Fernando Valley and the Santa Clarita Valley, according to the results of a federal government study released Wednesday.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services published its Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings this morning ranking Providence Holy Cross four stars, out of five. Other hospitals in the area received two or three stars.

“This is the result of great teamwork by our physicians, our nurses and all our caregivers,” said Bernard Klein, M.D., the hospital’s chief executive. “The data are wide-ranging and include not only our performance on medical procedures and our ability to provide swift quality care in our very busy Emergency Department, but ratings also are based on the results of patient surveys. That input relates to the work performed by every single person at Holy Cross.”

Dr. Klein also credited Providence Holy Cross’s Magnet Hospital status, awarded by the American Nurses’ Credentialing Center to hospitals with nurse teams that rate among the nation’s top 8 percent for quality. Holy Cross is the only Magnet hospital in the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys.

More than 4,000 hospitals nationwide were rated, utilizing 64 measures to assess quality of care in hospitals. Just 2.2 percent received five stars; 20.3 percent, four; 38.5 percent, three; 15.7 percent, two; and 2.9 percent were rated a single star.

“These easy-to-understand star ratings are available online and empower people to compare and choose across various types of facilities from nursing homes to home health agencies,” said Kate Goodrich, M.D., director of the Center for Clinical Standards and Quality at CMS.

One criticism of the study was that it penalized hospitals that serve exceptionally high numbers of low-income patients. Holy Cross is among these hospitals, but bucked a trend that found so-called “safety net” hospitals earned slightly lower ratings.

About Providence Health & Services:

Providence Health & Services, Southern California, is a Catholic not-for-profit, mission-driven healthcare system. Providence Southern California operates six 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 Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, Providence Tarzana Medical Center and Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Centers in Torrance and San Pedro. With more than 3,400 physicians, Providence provides coordinated primary and specialty care through an array of physician groups and individual providers including Providence Medical Institute and physician groups in the South Bay, the West Valley and Santa Clarita. Providence affiliate, Facey Medical Group, provides primary and specialized care in the San Fernando, Santa Clarita and San Gabriel valleys. For more information, visit California.providence.org.