Venice Regional Medical Center

Manatee Memorial, Blake fare poorly in Medicare review

MANATEE -- Two local hospitals fared poorly in the latest federal review of how frequently their Medicare patients die from certain conditions.

Manatee Memorial Hospital’s mortality rates for heart attack and heart failure were found to be significantly worse than the average for hospitals nationwide. And Blake Medical Center’s mortality rate for heart failure also was significantly worse than the national average.

Lakewood Ranch Medical Center’s mortality rates were about average for both cardiac conditions and for pneumonia, the other category studied.

The results come from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Hospital Compare program. It examines the outcomes of each hospital’s Medicare patients, looking at how many died or needed to return for care within 30 days of leaving the hospital. The updated study looks at cases from July 2007 through June 2010.

The report is structured so that only a small percentage of hospitals are recognized as better or worse than average. About nine in 10 are rated average.

In a conference call, CMS Administrator Donald Berwick said the updated figures show “modest but meaningful improvement.” And despite the red flags, Manatee Memorial did show some gains.

The hospital repeated its better-than-average rating for heart failure readmissions -- patients treated for the condition but who had to return within a month.

And last year, Manatee Memorial was one of just four hospitals nationwide to rate below average for a heart attack, heart failure and pneumonia mortality. The updated results show its pneumonia mortality is about average.

The hospital is trying to address the other issues. CEO Kevin DiLallo said Friday that the hospital established a medical staff committee in 2009 to examine the appropriateness of care in heart attack and heart failure cases.

Vernon DeSear, a hospital vice president, noted that the report is a rolling average of three years, and that improvements in 2009 should soon have a greater effect on Manatee Memorial’s ratings.

Melissa Steffy, Blake’s vice president of quality, said she uses Hospital Compare data, but said it has limitations.

The report looks only at Medicare patients, and considers care given outside of the hospital, she said. And she echoed DeSear, saying the three-year window makes it hard to see year-to-year changes.

Blake pointed to strong results in another part of Hospital Compare, measuring how often the hospital gives the proper medications or procedures for treating heart failure and heart attack. And on Florida’s scorecard of mortality rates, Blake is rated as performing “as expected,” she said.

SMH mortality rate better than national average | Longboat Key News

Sarasota Memorial holds the prize as a hospital with one of the best mortality statistics in the country. Newly released data from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) analyzed mortality and re-admission rates for more than 4,600 hospitals nationwide. The statistics tracked patients who were admitted for heart attacks, heart failure and pneumonia.

The only Tampa Bay area hospital to perform well above the national average in three of six categories was Sarasota Memorial Hospital, with an above-average mortality rate for heart attacks, readmission rates for heart attacks and readmission rates for heart failures. It also excelled in several other measures.

Mease Hospital (Dunedin), Mease Countryside Hospital (Safety Harbor), Morton Plant Hospital (Clearwater), Palms of Pasadena Hospital (St. Petersburg) and Venice Regional Medical Center also performed better than the national average in most categories.

Manatee Memorial Hospital scored well below national averages in multiple categories including poor heart attack and heart failure mortality rates. Other Tampa Bay area hospitals that did poorly were Seven Rivers Regional Medical Center (Crystal River), which had poor heart attack and pneumonia mortality rates, and Citrus Memorial Hospital (Inverness), which also had poor heart attack and pneumonia mortality rates.

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