St. Mary's Sacred Heart Hospital announced that it has achieved five stars for its performance in gallbladder removal surgery from Healthgrades, the leading online resource for comprehensive information about physicians and hospitals. This is the fourth consecutive year Sacred Heart Hospital has received Healthgrades' highest rating in this common surgical procedure (2015-2018).

This achievement is part of new findings and data released today by Healthgrades and featured in the Healthgrades 2018 Report to the Nation. Every year, Healthgrades evaluates hospital performance at nearly 4,500 hospitals nationwide for 34 of the most common inpatient procedures and conditions.

The new report demonstrates how clinical performance continues to differ dramatically between hospitals regionally and nationally. This variation in care has a significant impact on health outcomes. For example, from 2014-2016, if all hospitals as a group performed similarly to hospitals receiving 5 stars as a group, on average 219,568 lives could potentially have been saved and 164,454 complications could potentially have been avoided. A 5-star rating indicates that Sacred Heart Hospital's clinical outcomes are statistically significantly better than expected when treating the condition or performing the procedure being evaluated.

"We are extremely proud to again receive Healthgrades' five-star rating for gallbladder removal surgery," said Jeff English, President of St. Mary's Sacred Heart Hospital. "It takes vision, sustained effort, and tremendous commitment to achieve a five-star rating for four years in a row. I am thankful to our medical staff, surgical staff, and our entire team for making this possible."

St. Mary's Sacred Heart Hospital also received Healthgrades Patient Safety Excellence Award earlier this year. The hospital has achieved the patient safety award three years in a row (2015-2017) and has been named among the top 5 percent of U.S. hospitals for patient safety for two years in a row (2016-2017).

“In an environment where consumers have more choices about where to receive their care, a hospital’s commitment to achieving high-quality outcomes is fundamental,” said Brad Bowman, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Healthgrades. “Because consumers place such value on this information, hospitals that achieve five stars for gallbladder removal surgery stand out in their marketplace.”