SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb., ― Regional West Medical Center is 5-star rated for Respiratory Failure outcomes, and is the only hospital in Nebraska to achieve a 5 star in Respiratory Failure for 4 years in a row (2017-2020), according to a national report released by Healthgrades, the leading online resource for information about physicians and hospitals. This achievement is part of the Healthgrades 2020 Report to the Nation, which underscores the importance of hospital quality to both consumers and hospital leaders. Every year, Healthgrades evaluates hospital performance at nearly 4,500 hospitals nationwide for 32 of the most common inpatient procedures and conditions using Medicare data, and additional analyzes outcomes in appendectomy and bariatric surgery using all-payer data provided by 15 states.

Variation in care has a significant impact on health outcomes. From 2016-2018, if all hospitals as a group performed similarly to hospitals receiving 5-stars as a group, on average, 220,019 lives could potentially have been saved and 149,403 complications could potentially have been avoided.* A 5-star rating indicates that Regional West Medical Center’s clinical outcomes are statistically significantly better than expected when treating the condition or performing the procedure being evaluated.

“This national recognition from Healthgrades for the treatment of respiratory failure is very important to Regional West; especially that we have earned this recognition for four years in a row. All of the providers and staff at Regional West are focused on improving patient outcomes, patient safety, and patient satisfaction,” said John Mentgen, President and CEO of Regional West Health Services.

Additionally, from 2016 through 2018, patients treated for Respiratory Failure in hospitals with 5-stars for in-hospital mortality have, on average, a 49.6percent lower risk of dying than if they were treated in hospitals with 1 star for in-house mortality. Similarly, patients treated for Respiratory Failure in hospitals with 1-star for in-hospital mortality are, on average, 2.0 times more likely to die than if they were treated in hospitals with 5 stars for in-house mortality.*

“Consumers have many choices when it comes to choosing a hospital where to receive care and the choice can be a matter of life and death,” said Brad Bowman, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Healthgrades. “The hospitals that have been recognized as 5-star rated for specific procedures and conditions stand out above the rest for the ongoing dedication and commitment to providing exceptional care to their patients.”

For its analysis, Healthgrades evaluated approximately 45 million Medicare inpatient records for nearly 4,500 short-term acute care hospitals nationwide to assess hospital performance in 32 common conditions and procedures, and evaluated outcomes in appendectomy and bariatric surgery using all-payer data provided by 15 states. 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 significantly better than expected), 3-star (not statistically different from expected) and 1-star (statistically significantly worse than expected) categories. View the full list of Specialty Excellence AwardTM recipients here. The complete Healthgrades 2020 Report to the Nation and detailed study methodology, can be found at https://partners.healthgrades.com/healthgrades-quality-solutions/healthgrades-quality-awards/.

Regional West Health Services in Scottsbluff, Neb., is the parent company of Regional West Medical Center, a 188-bed regional referral center and one of three Level II Trauma Centers in the state. As the region’s only tertiary referral medical center, Regional West offers care that spans more than 32 medical specialties provided by over 28 physician clinics. With nearly 300 in-network providers, and 2,000 employees, Regional West provides comprehensive and innovative health care services for the people of western Nebraska and the neighboring states of Colorado, South Dakota, and Wyoming.

* Statistics are based on Healthgrades analysis of MedPAR data for years 2016 through 2018 and represent three-year estimates for Medicare patients only.