HIALEAH, FL – Hialeah Hospital was ranked among the top five percent in the nation for bariatric surgery according to a new study issued today by HealthGrades, the leading independent healthcare ratings organization.
“At Hialeah Hospital we strive to provide the best in quality care for our patients,” said CEO Ralph Aleman. “Without our physicians and medical staff, achievements like this wouldn’t be possible.”
The fifth annual HealthGrades Bariatric Surgery Trends in American Hospitals Study is the largest annual study of its kind.
The study of objective patient outcomes evaluated all hospitals in 19 states over the years 2006, 2007 and 2008, using data obtained from state governments. Hospitals could not choose whether or not to participate in the study. In all, nearly 200,000 surgeries were evaluated for major inhospital complication rates at the 481 hospitals (out of more than 2,500) that performed bariatric surgeries in sufficient enough volumes to be rated.
Bariatric surgery can produce dramatic weight loss among the morbidly obese, who comprise about 5% of the national population, according to the Centers for Disease Control. In many cases, patients undergoing the procedure lose the equivalent of one-third of their body weight or more. Bariatric surgery has also been shown, in the morbidly obese, to significantly improve or cure a variety of major health problems including diabetes, high blood pressure and sleep apnea.
Hialeah Hospital and other top-performing hospitals in bariatric surgery had 43% fewer complications, on average, than hospitals performing at an average level, according to the HealthGrades study. Patients at top-performing hospitals had lengths of stay that averaged exactly two days, while patients at average hospitals had lengths of stay that averaged 2.21 days and patients at the poorest-performing hospitals had lengths of stay that averaged 2.48 days.
“This study shows, quite dramatically, that for bariatric surgery, it is important for patients to evaluate hospitals using objective information as they make their choice,”
said Rick May, MD, a vice president with HealthGrades and a co-author of the study.
About Hialeah Hospital
Hialeah Hospital, part of Tenet’s Florida region, is located at 651 East 25th St. in Hialeah. The hospital has been serving the medical and health care needs of central to north Miami-Dade County since 1951. Hialeah Hospital offers a broad range of health care services, including 24-hour emergency care, cardiology, neurosurgery, obstetrics, a Level II Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, laboratory, a surgical weight loss program that has been designated a Center of Excellence by the American Society for Bariatric Surgery, a sleep disorders program, and a complement of imaging services.
Hialeah Hospital has earned a five-star rating and is ranked among the top five percent of hospitals in the nation for maternity care by HealthGrades, a health care quality ratings company. Hialeah Hospital is fully accredited by the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, the nation’s oldest and largest hospital accreditation agency.