ChristianaCare named among America’s 100 best in surgical and specialty areas

ChristianaCare is one of the nation’s 100 best health systems for four service lines according to a national study by Healthgrades, a leading online resource for information about physicians and hospitals.

Healthgrades named ChristianaCare, which includes Christiana Hospital in Newark, Del., and Wilmington Hospital in Wilmington, Del., among America’s 100 Best Hospitals for joint surgery, spine surgery, gastrointestinal care and general surgery.

“At ChristianaCare, we commit to being exceptional today and even better tomorrow, and this recognition from Healthgrades underscores the positive impact we’re making on the health of our community,” said Janice E. Nevin, M.D., MPH, president and CEO.

“The high-quality surgical care we provide is a testament to the compassion, expertise and relentless pursuit of excellence our extraordinary caregivers demonstrate every day, all For the Love of Health™.”

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 outcomes in appendectomy and bariatric surgery, and all-payer data provided by 15 states.

ChristianaCare received the following distinctions from Healthgrades in 2020:

• America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Joint Replacement™ for 5 Years in a Row (2016-2020).
• America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Spine Surgery™ for 7 Years in a Row (2014-2020).
• America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Gastrointestinal Care™ for 9 Years in a Row (2012-2020).
• America’s 100 Best Hospitals for General Surgery™ for 9 Years in a Row (2012-2020).
• Top 5% in the nation in joint replacement, spine surgery and overall pulmonary services.
• Top 5% in the nation for overall services for gastrointestinal care, including general surgery and medical treatment.

ChristianaCare, which also was recognized earlier this year as one of America’s 100 Best Hospitals for a third consecutive year, received an additional 17 distinctions for its performance in cardiac care, critical care, gastrointestinal care, orthopaedic care, pulmonary care and neurosciences.

These achievements are part of findings released in the Healthgrades 2020 Report to the Nation. The new report demonstrates the importance of hospital quality to both health system leaders and consumers.

Additionally, from 2016 through 2018, patients treated at hospitals receiving the America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Joint Replacement Award have, on average, a 62.5% lower risk of experiencing a complication while in the hospital than if they were treated in hospitals that did not receive the award.

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

“As consumers navigate their health, it is important to consider a number of factors, including hospital quality, before deciding where to access care,” said Brad Bowman, M.D. chief medical officer of Healthgrades.

“Healthgrades’ America’s 100 Best Hospitals for joint replacement, spine surgery, gastrointestinal care and general surgery recognizes those health systems that have proven their dedication to quality care and exceptional outcomes over time, and we applaud their efforts and achievement.”

Continuous improvement is key to ChristianaCare’s ongoing record of success in quality and patient safety. For example, ChristianaCare routinely reviews the surgical processes in its spine surgery and joint replacement programs to eliminate potential complications.

In general surgery, ChristianaCare has created a framework in which the surgical and emergency medicine teams collaborate to ensure seamless, optimal care for patients with complex emergency surgical needs.

In gastrointestinal care, ChristianaCare has created an Early Recovery After Surgery program, which identifies colorectal patients who are eligible for robotic surgery, enabling them to spend fewer days in the hospital and be less at risk for after-surgery complications.

“Our adoption of evidence-based guidelines, best practices and care standardization has helped eliminate preventable harm and has improved the care of the patients we serve,” said Sharon Anderson, MS, BSN, RN, FACHE, senior vice president of Quality & Patient Safety at ChristianaCare.

These Healthgrades awards are the most recent in a string of quality and safety recognitions that ChristianaCare has achieved in 2019.

For the fourth year in a row, ChristianaCare has been rated a Best Hospital and recognized for high performance in all nine surgical procedures and chronic conditions evaluated by U.S. News & World Report. ChristianaCare was also rated among the World’s Best Hospitals by Newsweek.