FALL RIVER, Mass – Southcoast Health today announced that it has been recognized as one of America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Care for the seventh year in a row by Healthgrades (2012-18), the leading online resource for healthcare consumers. Southcoast Health is one of just four hospitals in Massachusetts to receive this distinction for seven consecutive years.

In all, Southcoast Health was recognized for superior cardiovascular services with 11 recognitions, including receiving the Healthgrades Cardiac Care Excellence Award for the 12^th year in a row (2007-18).

“These recognitions are a much-deserved acknowledgement of the tremendous dedication of the team of physicians, nurses and clinical staff at the Southcoast Health Cardiovascular Care Center,” said Dr. Margaret Ferrell, Physician-in-Chief of Cardiovascular Services at Southcoast Health. “Our team provides the highest level of cardiac care to the patients of our region on a daily basis, and so it’s gratifying to see their hard work recognized.”

Southcoast Health also received awards in pulmonary, gastrointestinal and critical care. (See the full list below)

These achievements are part of new findings and data released this week on Healthgrades.com and in the Healthgrades 2018 Report to the Nation. For its analysis, Healthgrades evaluated approximately 45 million Medicare-patient records for nearly 4,500 short-term acute care hospitals nationwide, assessing hospital performance relative to each of 34 common conditions and procedures.

“Many consumers believe that hospital quality is standardized, though the reality is that clinical quality and outcomes at hospitals vary widely across the country,” said Brad Bowman, MD, Healthgrades, Chief Medical Officer. “The hospitals that have achieved the Healthgrades America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Care distinction have demonstrated a commitment to exceptional quality of care and can distinguish themselves to consumers seeking care at high-quality facilities.”

Healthgrades recognizes a hospital’s quality achievements for cohort-specific performance, specialty area performance and overall clinical quality. Individual procedure or condition cohorts are designated as 5-star (statistically better than expected), 3-star (statistically as expected) and 1-star (statistically worse than expected) categories.

Detailed performance information, such as cohort-specific outcomes data and quality achievements, as well as more information on the Healthgrades 2018 Report to the Nation, including the complete methodology, can be found at www.healthgrades.com/quality.

The following is a full list of Healthgrades recognitions received by Southcoast Health this year:

 2018 Recognitions

Cardiovascular Services

• Healthgrades America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Care for seven years in a row (2012-18)
• Healthgrades America’s 100 Best Hospitals from Coronary Intervention for two years in a row (2017-18)
• Healthgrades Cardiac Care Excellence Award for 12 years in a row (2007-18)
• Healthgrades Coronary Intervention Excellence Award for two years in a row (2017-18)
• Top 5% in the Nation for Cardiology Services for two years in a row (2017-18)
• Top 5% in the Nation for Coronary Interventional Procedures for two years in a row (2017-18)
• Top 10% in the Nation for Overall Cardiac Services for 12 years in a row (2007-18)
• Top 10% in the Nation for Cardiology Services for three years in a row (2016-18)
• Five-Star Recipient for Coronary Bypass Surgery for seven years in a row (2012-18)
• Five-Star Recipient for Coronary Interventional Procedures for two years in a row (2017-18)
• Five-Star Recipient for Treatment of Heart Attack for three years in a row (2016-18)

Pulmonary

• Healthgrades America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Pulmonary Care for four years in a row (2015-18)
• Healthgrades Pulmonary Care Excellence Award for nine years in a row (2010-18)
• Top 5% in the Nation for Overall Pulmonary Services for five years in a row (2014-18)
• Top 10% in the Nation for Overall Pulmonary Services for nine years in a row (2010-18)
• Five-Star Recipient for Treatment of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease for 10 years in a row (2009-18)
• Five-Star Recipient for Treatment of Pneumonia for eight years in a row (2011-18)

Gastrointestinal

•  Five-Star Recipient for Esophageal/Stomach Surgeries in 2018

Critical Care

• Five-Star Recipient for Treatment of Sepsis in 2018
• Five-Star Recipient for Treatment of Respiratory Failure for three years in a row (2016-18)

2017 Recognitions

Hospital Wide

• Healthgrades Distinguished Hospital Award – Clinical Excellence for two years in a row (2016-17)
• Healthgrades Patient Safety Excellence Award for four years in a row (2014-17)
• Top 5% in the Nation for Patient Safety for four years in a row (2014-17)