Contact: Scott Samples, Public Information Coordinator
Phone: (772) 223-4920
Cell: (772) 708-3319
E-mail: ssamples@mmhs-fla.org  

STUART, Fla., March 28, 2011 – For the second year in a row and the sixth year overall, Martin Memorial Medical Center has been named one of the Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospitals in the United States.

Martin Memorial was one of 20 winners in the Large Community Hospitals category (250 or more acute care beds in service and not classified as a teaching hospital). Martin Memorial and the Cleveland Clinic in Weston were the only two of Florida’s nearly 300 hospitals named for 2010.

To determine the 100 Top Hospitals, Thomson Reuters looked at nearly 3,000 hospitals nationwide and selected award winners based on overall organizational performance. The study uses objective research and independent public data to recognize the best U.S. hospitals. Hospitals do not apply and winners do not pay to market this honor.

The study has been conducted annually since 1993. In that time, only 62 hospitals have won the award six times or more – about 2 percent of the total hospitals surveyed – including just nine from Florida. Research by Thomson Reuters indicates hospitals that win the award three or more times have particularly high levels of performance over many years.

“Being recognized as a 100 Top Hospitals winner for the sixth time reflects our continued and unwavering commitment to providing exceptional care to the community,” said Mark E. Robitaille, president and chief executive officer of Martin Memorial. “We have forged strong partnerships with physicians, associates, volunteers, and the community that have allowed us to develop a culture of performance excellence and fulfill our mission of consistently delivering the highest quality care to our patients.”

The Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospitals: National Benchmarks study evaluates performance in 10 areas: mortality, medical complications, patient safety, average length of stay, expenses, profitability, patient satisfaction, adherence to clinical standards of care, and post-discharge mortality and readmission rates for acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, and pneumonia.

To conduct the 100 Top Hospitals study, Thomson Reuters researchers evaluated 2,926 short-term, acute care, non-federal hospitals. They used public information – Medicare cost reports, Medicare Provider Analysis and Review (MedPAR) data, and core measures and patient satisfaction data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospital Compare data set.

According to Thomson Reuters, if all Medicare inpatients received the same level of care as those treated in the award-winning facilities:

• Nearly 116,000 additional patients would survive each year.
• More than 197,000 patient complications would be avoided annually.
• Expense per adjusted discharge would drop by $462.
• The average patient stay would decrease by half a day.

If the same standards were applied to all inpatients, the impact would be even greater.

“This year’s 100 Top Hospitals award winners have delivered exemplary results, despite volatility from health care reform,” said Jean Chenoweth, senior vice president at Thomson Reuters. “The leadership teams at these organizations have dealt with enormous ambiguity, yet remained focused on mission and excellence across the hospital which drove national benchmarks to new highs.”

About Martin Memorial: Martin Memorial Health Systems is a not-for-profit, community-based health care organization that has served the region for more than 70 years. It offers a continuum of care including preventative, primary and acute hospital care, as well as cancer and cardiac care, wellness and rehabilitation services. Its approximately 2,900 Associates, 375 affiliated physicians and 850 volunteers provide care at 12 different locations serving Martin and St. Lucie counties. Martin Memorial is a six-time winner of the Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospitals Award, was named a Thomson Reuters 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals award winner in 2010, and received designation as a National Employer of Choice designee for 2009 and 2010-11. To learn more, visit mmhs.com.