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Buffalo Hospitals Number 1

Buffalo Niagara hospitals rated No. 1 in value of care
Region tops 97 other metropolitan areas in Hospital Value Index

By Jonathan D. Epstein

Buffalo News (July 3, 2008)

The Buffalo Niagara region has been ranked by a national health care information company as the nation’s best market for the value of hospital care.

The region beat out 97 other metropolitan areas, including Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Chicago and Washington, D. C., many of which are renowned for their health care and hospitals.

“That’s one of the reasons I came to Buffalo: Great hospitals, great community and great value,” said James R. Kaskie, chief executive officer of Kaleida Health, the region’s biggest hospital system. In particular, eight Western New York hospitals — including all four hospitals of Catholic Health System, plus Kaleida’s Buffalo General Hospital, Erie County Medical Center, Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center and Mount St. Mary’s in Lewiston— were named among the nation’s 100 best values for medical care based on Data Advantage LLC’s inaugural Hospital Value Index.

“There’s tremendous value in the area as relates to health care,” said James Dunlop, chief financial officer of Catholic Health. “The overall cost of health care in the area is relatively low compared to other parts of the country and the quality is high. That’s a good thing for the business community and the patients.”

“We’re gratified by the results of the report,” said Michael A. Young chief executive officer of ECMC. “It’s a testament to the medical staff, the nurses and all of the employees of their commitment and focus on patient quality.”

The survey is not a pure measure of the best medical care, but balances that quality with affordability. In addition, it’s based on how efficiently the hospitals operate, the satisfaction of their patients, and the hospitals’ local reputations.

“The good news for consumers and employers in Buffalo is that you’ve got the best value market in the nation and you’ve got very consistent scores across the market, and they’re all doing a great job,” said Hal Andrews, chief executive of Data Advantage, a hospital information and software firm in Nashville, Tenn.

“The hospitals in Buffalo are doing an excellent job and they’re also charging a fair price as compared to the other hospitals that we ranked,” Andrews said. “Almost every hospital in Buffalo received a high score for affordability.”

In Western New York, a total of 11 hospitals were examined, with eight making the top 100 list. Among the local hospitals, Niagara Falls Memorial came in highest, at No. 12.

“We’re quite honored to be the 12th best in the country among a prestigious group of hospitals,” said Joseph A. Ruffolo, president and chief executive officer of Niagara Falls Memorial, which operates the Heart Center of Niagara. “We work very hard at it. This didn’t happen by accident.”

St. Joseph’s was 17th, followed by Mercy Hospital of Buffalo and Kenmore Mercy Hospital at Nos. 24 and 25, respectively, and Sisters of Charity Hospital at No. 43. All four are owned by Catholic Health. ECMC was 49th, Buffalo General was rated 56th, and Mount St. Mary’s came in at 73rd.

“It looks good for Western New York to have so many of the hospitals listed. We’re proud to be part of that group,” said Judith Maness, Mount St. Mary’s chief executive.

Other upstate markets also performed well in the survey. Rochester was No. 2, Syracuse was No. 5, and Albany was No. 18.

“I’m not surprised that the upstate hospitals in the Buffalo- Rochester areas did well because New York has always been one of the medical capitals of the nation,” said Betsy McCaughey, the state’s former lieutenant governor, a health policy expert, and chairwoman of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths.

“They deserve the same kind of reputation that the Cleveland Clinic or Mayo Clinic or Boston institutions have.”

The accolades come at a time when Western New York’s hospitals are being forced to adjust to a new landscape and embark on sometimes-wrenching changes. Under the recommendations of the Berger Commission, Catholic Health is closing St. Joseph Hospital in Cheektowaga (which will reopen as an arm of Sisters of Charity Hospital), while Kaleida consolidates Millard Fillmore Hospital with Buffalo General.Most significantly, Kaleida and ECMC have agreed to consolidate into a private entity.

The Data Advantage report, though, shows that even before these changes, the region is in good hands medically.

“In light of changes that are under way in the Western New York health care arena, this is a validation that what we have is very good and what we are doing is to take what we have and make it even better,” Kaskie said.

The new index is the latest example of multiple efforts nationwide to measure and report the quality of medical care, in a bid to encourage significant improvements by letting consumers and providers see how they stack up.The goal is to reduce errors and unnecessary treatments while delivering good and appropriate medical care, in an efficient manner, at a reasonable price. Experts hope that this will lead either to lower costs or at least better health for Americans, which can stanch the rapidly rising costs of medical care and health insurance.

“Everyone, all the systems in Western New York, have been focused on getting better and focused on clinical quality,” said Thomas J. Quatroche Jr., senior vice president of marketing and planning at ECMC.

Data Advantage claims its index, which is based on objective, publicly available data, is the first scorecard measuring the value of care at U. S. hospitals. The 16-year-old firm developed the index in anticipation of an effort by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to begin rewarding hospitals financially next year based on the value of care provided. Data Advantage’s ranking combines data on quality and patient safety from established government and other public sources, together with hospital costs and charges, patient satisfaction scores, and the reputation of a hospital measured by local public perception.

The final score for each hospital, up to 100 points, is weighted, with 45 percent coming from quality, 45 percent from affordability and efficiency, and 10 percent from satisfaction. Metropolitan markets were then ranked based on the average hospital value index score for their institutions.