Barrington, IL (February 11, 2009) -

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Leading Healthcare Ratings Organization Ranks Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital

Among Top Five Percent Nationally for Quality

Barrington, IL (January 27, 2008) - Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital is one of only 270 hospitals to receive HealthGrades' Distinguished Hospital for Clinical Excellence Award^™.  The distinction is based on an independent study released today by HealthGrades, the leading U.S. healthcare ratings organization. This is the third straight year in a row that Good Shepherd earned the national recognition.

The study of quality at the nation's nearly 5,000 non-federal hospitals places Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in the top five percent for overall clinical quality.  According to the HealthGrades study, Distinguished Hospitals for Clinical Excellence had mortality rates that were, on average, 27 percent lower than other hospitals, and major complication rates that were eight percent lower. Hospitals that receive the Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence are those hospitals that excel across the 26 procedures and diagnoses rated. 

"While we honor our faith-based roots and often explain in simplest terms that our mission is to do good for those communities and patients that we serve, we are first and foremost a clinical mission intent on delivering the best possible care that we can," said Karen Lambert, president of Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital.  "This is a welcomed acknowledgement that we continue to deliver excellence, but it also keeps us mindful that the growing needs of our population demands continue improvement and excellence, from every one, every time."

The study also shows that Distinguished Hospitals for Clinical Excellence^™ are improving at a greater rate in more procedures and diagnoses than all other hospitals, lowering risk-adjusted mortality rates over the years 2005, 2006, 2007 by an average of 18%. 

For its study, HealthGrades analyzed almost 41 million Medicare hospitalization records that cover the latest three-year period, from 2005 to 2007.  Because the hospitalization records come from the federal government, no hospital can opt in or out of HealthGrades' rating process. The analysis is risk-adjusted to account for differences in patient populations between hospitals.

HealthGrades found that Distinguished Hospitals for Clinical Excellence^™ outperformed all other hospitals across the procedures and diagnoses studied. HealthGrades estimates that 152,666 lives could have been saved and 11,772 complications could have been avoided over the three years studied if all Medicare patients were treated at Distinguished Hospitals for Clinical Excellence.

 
About Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital

Good Shepherd is part of Advocate Health Care, Illinois' largest integrated healthcare system, and one of the top ten in the United States.  Good Shepherd is a 186-bed facility, with approximately 700 primary care and specialized physicians on staff.  It is part of Advocate Health Care, the largest healthcare provider in the State of Illinois and one of the Top Ten in the United States.  Related to both the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the United Church of Christ, Advocate last year provided $344 million in charitable care and services. For more about Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital, visit www.advocatehealth.com/goodshep.