A report released today by HealthGrades, the nation’s leading independent source of physician information and hospital quality ratings, recognized all five Providence Health & Services, Southern California, medical centers for excellent clinical outcomes.

Choosing a hospital can be a life or death decision. HealthGrades’ report found that patients treated at 5-star rated hospitals experienced a 73 percent lower risk of mortality and a 63 percent lower risk of complications compared to 1-star rated hospitals. A quality comparison of doctors and hospitals in Los Angeles area can be found online at HealthGrades.com.

“Providence is focused on excellence and that focus and the unrelenting commitment to improving care has translated into measurable superior clinical quality and patient outcomes,” said Laurence Eason, regional chief medical officer for Providence Southern California. “With more and more information available to consumers, they can easily identify the highly rated hospitals in their areas, and we are pleased to be among those at the top of the list . Providence is fortunate to have passionate and well trained physicians, nurses and staff members to care for people when they are at their most vulnerable.”

Providence, a Catholic not-for-profit organization, operates Providence Holy Cross, Providence Saint Joseph and Providence Tarzana medical centers in the San Fernando Valley and Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Centers in Torrance and San Pedro. Together the medical centers garnered 53 HealthGrades awards for quality.

“Patients today have a wide array options when it comes to choosing a healthcare provider,” said Kerry Hicks, HealthGrades chief executive officer. “At HealthGrades, we are proud to have led the way for empowering patient choice based on objective clinical outcomes and access to actionable quality measures. We commend the Providence Health & Services, Southern California, hospitals for their superior quality and support of consumerism and transparency in the Los Angeles area.”

Notable 2012 clinical achievements by facility are as follows:

Five-Star Rated for Treatment of Heart Failure for 10 Years in a Row

Recipient of the HealthGrades Stroke Care Excellence Award™ for 2 Years in a Row

Ranked Among the Top 10% in the Nation for Treatment of Stroke for 2 Years in a Row

Five-Star Rated for Treatment of Stroke for 3 Years in a Row

Recipient of the HealthGrades Pulmonary Care Excellence Award™ for 8 Years in a Row

Ranked Among the Top 5% in the Nation for Overall Pulmonary Services

Five-Star Rated for Overall Pulmonary Services for 10 Years in a Row

Five-Star Rated for Treatment of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Five-Star Rated for Treatment of Pneumonia for 10 Years in a Row

Ranked Among the Top 10% in the Nation for GI Medical Treatment

Five-Star Rated for Treatment of GI Bleed for 5 Years in a Row

Five-Star Rated for Treatment of Bowel Obstruction for 7 Years in a Row

Five-Star Rated for Treatment of Sepsis for 7 Years in a Row

Five-Star Rated for Treatment of Heart Failure for 10 Years in a Row

Recipient of the HealthGrades Pulmonary Care Excellence Award™

Ranked Among the Top 5% in the Nation for Overall Pulmonary Services

Ranked Among the Top 10 in CA for Overall Pulmonary Services

Five-Star Rated for Overall Pulmonary Services for 2 Years in a Row

Five-Star Rated for Treatment of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Five-Star Rated for Treatment of Pneumonia for 3 Years in a Row

Recipient of the HealthGrades Vascular Surgery Excellence Award™ for 2 Years in a Row

Ranked Among the Top 5% in the Nation for Vascular Surgery for 2 Years in a Row

Ranked Among the Top 5 in CA for Vascular Surgery for 2 Years in a Row

Five-Star Rated for Vascular Surgery for 2 Years in a Row

Five-Star Rated for Carotid Surgery for 2 Years in a Row

Five-Star Rated for Peripheral Vascular Bypass for 2 Years in a Row

Five-Star Rated for GI Procedures and Surgeries

Five-Star Rated for Treatment of Bowel Obstruction

Five-Star Rated for Treatment of Sepsis for 2 Years in a Row

Five-Star Rated for Coronary Bypass Surgery for 2 Years in a Row

Five-Star Rated for Treatment of Heart Failure

Five-Star Rated for Spine Surgery

Five-Star Rated for Back and Neck Surgery (Spinal Fusion) for 2 Years in a Row

Five-Star Rated for Appendectomy for 4 Years in a Row

Five-Star Rated for Coronary Bypass Surgery

Five-Star Rated for Spine Surgery

Five-Star Rated for Hip Fracture Treatment

Five-Star Rated for Back and Neck Surgery (Spinal Fusion) For 4 Years in a Row

Recipient of the HealthGrades Prostatectomy Excellence Award™

Ranked Among the Top 5% in the Nation for Prostatectomy

Five-Star Rated for Prostatectomy

Five-Star Rated for Treatment of Sepsis For 2 Years in a Row

Five-Star Rated for Hip Fracture Treatment

Recipient of the HealthGrades Prostatectomy Excellence Award™

Ranked Among the Top 10% in the Nation for Prostatectomy

Five-Star Rated for Prostatectomy

Recipient of the HealthGrades Gastrointestinal Care Excellence Award™

Recipient of the HealthGrades General Surgery Excellence Award™

Ranked Among the Top 10% in the Nation for Overall GI Services

Ranked Among the Top 10% in the Nation for General Surgery

Five-Star Rated for Treatment of GI Bleed

Five-Star Rated for Cholecystectomy For 2 Years in a Row

Five-Star Rated for Treatment of Sepsis

Key findings of the HealthGrades 2011 Healthcare Consumerism and Hospital Quality in America report include:

– Patients had, on average a 73% lower risk of dying in 5-star rated hospitals compared to -star rated hospitals, and a 54% lower risk of dying in 5-star rated hospitals compared to the national average.

– Patients, on average, were 63% less likely to experience in-hospital complications than patients at 1-star programs, and had a 43% lower chance of developing an in-hospital complication than the national average.

– If all Medicare patients from 2008 through 2010 had been treated at 5-star hospitals, 240,040 lives could have potentially been saved.

– If all Medicare patients from 2008 through 2010 had gone to 5-star hospitals for their procedures, 164,472 in-hospital complications could have potentially been avoided.

Providence Health & Services, Southern California, is a Catholic, not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing quality and compassionate health care and reaching out to the poor and the vulnerable in the communities it serves. Providence California operates five acute care medical centers in the Los Angeles area providing a full continuum of healthcare services: Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, Providence Tarzana Medical Center, Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Centers in Torrance and San Pedro. The region also has numerous ancillary facilities including Hospice care, long-term care, numerous outpatient clinics and Providence High School in Burbank. For information, visit providence.org.

HealthGrades is America’s most trusted, independent source of physician information and hospital quality outcomes. HealthGrades online properties are the nation’s leading destination for physician search and empower more than 170 million consumers annually to make informed healthcare decisions.