Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center has been recognized as one of the 50 best hospitals in the country by Healthgrades, a website that evaluates hospital quality, putting the Salmon Creek hospital in the top 1 percent of hospitals nationwide.
To assess overall hospital quality, Healthgrades used Medicare data collected between 2018 and 2020 to evaluate the performance of nearly 4,500 U.S. hospitals in the treatment of some 30 common conditions and procedures, including heart attack, pneumonia and sepsis.
This is the first time Legacy Salmon Creek has been included in the top 50. The hospital ranked in the top 250 in 2020 and 2021.
To be recognized as one of Healthgrades’ top 50 hospitals, a facility must be included in the top 250 or top 100 hospitals over several consecutive years; hospitals in the top 50 demonstrate consistent excellence.
Legacy Health representatives were not available for comment Wednesday.
Healthgrades also provides awards based on hospital excellence in specific areas. Since 2020, Legacy Salmon Creek has been recognized for its critical care, pulmonary care, gastrointestinal care and stroke care and for excellence in neurosciences.
Legacy Salmon Creek scored above the national average in all of Healthgrades’ patient-experience measures. Patient-experience measures are based on the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
For example, 81 percent of patients gave the hospital a rating of 9/10 or higher, 12 percent above the national average, and 84 percent of patients said they would definitely recommend the hospital, 14 percent above the national average.
The hospital also scored above the national average in all areas related to hospital staff and facilities, such as positive communication with doctors and the cleanliness of patients’ rooms and bathrooms.
The ranking system is intended to help patients make informed decisions about their health care needs. According to a recent Healthgrades survey, only 22 percent of U.S. adults reported that they considered hospital quality the last time they selected a specialist.
“It is crucial to know the top-performing hospitals in your community and look to these centers of clinical excellence to support you and your family’s health long-term,” Burt Kann, head of product at Healthgrades, said in a news release.
Two other regional hospital were included in this year’s top 50: Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland, and Kaiser Sunnyside Medical Center in Clackamas. Legacy Salmon Creek scored higher than both of those facilities in areas related to hospital staff and facilities.
