Report: CT Lacks 'Top Performing' Hospital

Connecticut is the only New England state - and one of just three nationally - to have no hospitals designated as "Top Performers" by The Joint Commission. The organization issues an annual report gauging the performance of more than 3,300 accredited hospitals on 45 accountability measures linked to positive patient outcomes. The Connecticut Health I-Team reports that the commission evaluated 620 hospitals in 47 states that it says are "leading the way nationally in using evidence-based care processes closely linked to positive patient outcomes." The Joint Commission report notes that many hospitals not recognized as top performers "are still performing well on accountability measures, but there is room for improvement."

Every state has at least one hospital on the list except Connecticut, North Dakota and South Dakota.  Ten hospitals in Massachusetts, four in Maine, four in New Hampshire, three in Vermont and one in Rhode Island were designated as top performers. The top-performer designation is based on performance related to accountability measures for heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia, surgical care, children's asthma care, inpatient psychiatric services, venous thromboembolism (VTE) care, and stroke care.

Of the 620 hospitals recognized as 'Top Performers on Key Quality Measures," 26 percent are rural hospitals, 45 percent are nonprofit hospitals, and 49 percent have between 100 and 300 beds.  Major teaching hospitals account for 5 percent of the recipients.  The number of hospitals recognized by the Joint Commission increased more than 50 percent from the list's debut last year, when one Connecticut hospital - Griffin, in Derby - was included.   The full list of Top Performers on Key Quality Measures is available at www.jointcommission.org.