BY TIM SHEEHAN
CV Journalism Collaborative
Three hospitals in the San Joaquin Valley – two in Fresno, one in Modesto – have received places among the rankings of best regional hospitals in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.
The rankings, announced on July 29, recognize Community Regional Medical Center in downtown Fresno, Saint Agnes Medical Center in north Fresno and Memorial Medical Center in Modesto among 64 top hospitals in California and 504 hospitals nationwide.
A total of 413 hospitals throughout California were evaluated on their performance and outcomes across a wide range of specialties and medical procedures, including care for cancer, diabetes, neurology, heart arrhythmia, heart attack, heart failure, stroke and more.
Community Regional Medical Center and Saint Agnes Medical Center were tied for 35th in the rankings among California hospitals, while Memorial Medical Center was tied for 60th.
Community Regional Medical Center, a 685-bed hospital that includes a trauma center and burn unit, was deemed “high performing” in 12 of 38 criteria: abdominal aortic aneurism, aortic valve repair, back surgery (spinal fusion), colon cancer surgery, diabetes, gynecological cancer surgery, heart arrhythmia, heart bypass surgery, heart failure, kidney failure, leukemia/lymphoma/myeloma and stroke.
The 436-bed Saint Agnes Medical Center was rated as a high-performing hospital in 13 criteria: aortic valve replacement, back surgery (spinal fusion), diabetes, heart arrhythmia, heart attack, heart failure, hip fracture, kidney failure, leukemia/lymphoma/myeloma, pacemaker implantation, pneumonia, prostate cancer surgery and transcatheter aortic valve replacement.
U.S. News gave high-performing ratings to Memorial Medical Center, a 419-bed facility, in nine criteria: COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder), diabetes, heart arrhythmia, heart attack, heart failure, hip fracture, kidney failure, pneumonia and stroke.
A “high performing” designation indicates that a hospital was “significantly better than average” in medical specialties, and typically has better-than-average patient outcomes related to medical procedures or conditions compared to other hospitals.
— Tim Sheehan is the Health Reporting Fellow and a senior reporter with the nonprofit Central Valley Journalism Collaborative. The fellowship is supported by a grant from the Fresno State Institute for Media and Public Trust. Contact Sheehan at tim@cvlocaljournalism.org.
