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PARSONS, KANSAS – Labette Health is 5-star rated for total knee replacement outcomes according to a study released by Healthgrades, the leading online resource for comprehensive information about physicians and hospitals. This achievement is part of new findings and data featured in the Healthgrades 2019 Report to the Nation. The new report demonstrates how clinical performance continues to differ dramatically between hospitals regionally and nationally. Every year, Healthgrades evaluates hospital performance at almost 4,500 hospitals nationwide for 32 of the most common inpatient procedures and conditions, as well as tracking outcomes in appendectomy and bariatric surgery using all-payer data provided by 15 states and the District of Columbia.

“To be successful as an orthopedic surgeon is much like being a successful quarterback – it’s difficult without a good team to support you,” said Dr. Brad Meister. “I feel very blessed to be a part of Labette Health’s great team. Our orthopedic team has consistently produced as good or better results than the big city hospitals, without the hassle and travel.”

Variation in care has a significant impact on health outcomes. For example, from 2015 through 2017, if all hospitals as a group performed similarly to hospitals receiving 5 stars as a group, then on average 222,210 lives could potentially have been saved and 157,210 in-hospital complications could potentially have been avoided.* A 5-star rating indicates that Labette Health’s clinical outcomes are statistically significantly better than expected when treating the condition or performing the procedure being evaluated.

“To have the best outcomes, you need the best team, including nursing, surgery, rehabilitation and anesthesiology. And that’s what we have here at Labette Health,” said Kerry Volmer, Director of Medical/Surgical Unit and Joint Care Coordinator. “We take pride in our work and seeing our patients out in community with great outcomes is so rewarding.”

“Clinical quality varies significantly between hospitals, so it’s important for consumers to use information about outcomes to assess where to receive care,” said Brad Bowman, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Healthgrades. “This 5-star rating for total knee replacement showcases the expertise and commitment of Labette Health to their patients.”

“I am committed to providing the best orthopedic surgical care to each and every one of my patients,” said Dr. Kevin Mosier. “For me, this means constantly striving to do what we do here at Labette Health even better and what drives me is the satisfaction I get from improving the quality of life for others.”

For its analysis, Healthgrades evaluated approximately 45 million Medicare inpatient records for almost 4,500 short-term acute care hospitals nationwide to assess hospital performance in 32 common conditions and procedures, and evaluated outcomes in appendectomy and bariatric surgery using all-payer data provided by 15 states and the District of Columbia. Healthgrades recognizes a hospital’s quality achievements for cohort-specific performance, specialty area performance, and overall clinical quality. Individual procedure or condition cohorts are designated as 5-star (statistically significantly better than expected), 3-star (not statistically different from expected) and 1-star (statistically significantly worse than expected) categories. The complete Healthgrades 2019 Report to the Nation and detailed study methodology can be found at www.healthgrades.com/quality/.