Merative (formerly IBM/Watson Health) identified the top hospitals from a rigorous evaluation of 2,650 short-term, acute care, non-federal hospitals in the U.S. The annual list recognizes excellence in clinical outcomes, operational efficiency, patient experience, and financial health. Merative established the list to help identify best practices that may help other healthcare organizations achieve consistent, balanced, and sustainable high performance.



Prime Healthcare recipients of the 2022 Fortune/Merative®100 Top Hospitals List include:



Centinela Hospital Medical Center, in Inglewood, CA, a six-time honoree


Desert Valley Hospital in Victorville, California, a seven-time honoree


East Liverpool City Hospital in East Liverpool, Ohio, a five-time honoree


Garden City Hospital in Garden City, Michigan, a two-time honoree


Lake Huron Medical Center in Port Huron, Michigan


La Palma Intercommunity Hospital in La Palma, California, a two-time honoree


Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center in Reno, Nevada, a three-time honoree


Saint Michael’s Medical Center in Newark, New Jersey


Recognition as one of the Fortune/Merative 100 Top Hospitals demonstrates Prime Healthcare’s ongoing commitment to prioritize patient-centered, value-based care. According to Merative, as compared to similar hospitals, the hospitals included on the Fortune/Merative 100 Top Hospitals list had better results on key clinical and operational performance indicators. These include survival rates, patient complications, healthcare-associated infections, 30-day mortality and 30-day hospital-wide readmission rates, length of stay, throughput in emergency departments, inpatient expenses, profitability, and ratings from patients.



“Prime’s mission is to bring quality compassionate care to communities, expand access, promote health equity by bringing care to those most in need, and improve the health of all we serve,” said Sunny Bhatia, MD, Chief Medical Officer for Prime Healthcare. “Many of these award-winning hospitals have been transformed as members of Prime, and receiving this national recognition reflects our unique ability to save community hospitals and ensure they deliver the highest quality of care. We are grateful to our physicians, nurses, and staff who dedicate themselves to providing exceptional care.”



The 100 Top Hospitals list also incorporates a community health measure into its ranking process. Hospitals were surveyed across three components: 1) assessing hospital contributions to community health as a provider of critical services; 2) identifying ways that hospitals contribute as a community partner by teaming up with local organizations; and 3) focusing on ways that hospitals promote community health and support economic and social progress. Prime Healthcare was recently recognized for its commitment to community and social determinants of health by The Joint Commission with the 2021 John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Award in the “National Level Innovation in Patient Safety and Quality” category. Prime was recognized for its groundbreaking initiatives that are consistent with the aims of the National Quality Strategy: better care, healthy people and communities, and smarter spending.



According to Merative, this year’s 100 Top Hospitals study revealed significant differences between award winners and their non-winning peers. The study’s highest-performing hospitals:



Had lower inpatient mortality, considering patient severity


Had fewer patient complications


Delivered care that resulted in fewer HAIs


Had lower 30-day mortality and 30-day hospital-wide readmission rates


Sent patients home sooner


Kept inpatient expenses low while still maintaining a healthy financial environment


Scored higher on patient ratings of their overall hospital experience


“We are honored to have many of our Prime Healthcare Foundation hospitals named as national 100 Top Hospitals,” said Kavitha Bhatia, MD, MMM, FAAP, President and Chair of Prime Healthcare Foundation and Chief Medical Officer of Strategy for Prime Healthcare. “Our hospitals have lived their mission of saving lives and serving communities at a time when that mission has never been more important. We are grateful for the unwavering and selfless dedication of our leaders, physicians, staff, and frontline caregivers for their commitment to health equity and remarkable and life-changing service.”



According to Merative’s analysis, if all hospitals performed at the same high level as those comprising the Top 100 list – one of the aims of annually publishing the data is to improve performance across the sector – it would prevent 104,000 patient deaths, 55,000 patients from having complications, and $12.5 billion in spending on in-patient care.



“Merative’s researchers found that hospitals that have repeatedly ranked among the 100 Top Hospitals tend to share seven key characteristics, including a mature culture and a commitment to maintaining it, nursing excellence, deeply committed leadership, quality-focused hospital boards, an embrace of data and innovative technology, and local autonomy within health systems,” said Erika Fry, senior writer, Fortune. For more information about the study,visit http://www.100tophospitals.com/



About Prime Healthcare and Prime Healthcare Foundation


As an award-winning health system headquartered in Ontario, California, operating 45 hospitals and more than 300 outpatient locations in 14 states, Prime Healthcare provides more than 2.6 million patient visits annually. It is one of the nation’s leading health systems with nearly 50,000 employees and physicians. Fourteen of the Prime Healthcare hospitals are members of the Prime Healthcare Foundation, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit public charity. To learn more, please visit www.primehealthcare.com.

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