NCH named among America's 100 Best for cardiac care, coronary intervention, stroke care, pulmonary care and critical care

Northwest Community Healthcare (NCH) is one of America's 100 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Care, Coronary Intervention, Stroke Care, Pulmonary Care and Critical Care according to new research released by Healthgrades, the leading resource that connects consumers, physicians and health systems. Every year, Healthgrades evaluates hospital performance at nearly 4,500 hospitals nationwide for 32 of the most common inpatient procedures and conditions using Medicare data, and outcomes in appendectomy and bariatric surgery using all-payer data provided by 16 states.

NCH has also been recognized for the following clinical achievements:

• America's 100 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Care for four years in a row (2018-2021)

• America's 100 Best Hospitals for Coronary Intervention for two years (2020-2021)

• America's 100 Best Hospitals for Stroke Care for five years in a row (2017-2021)

• America's 100 Best Hospitals for Pulmonary Care for three years in a row (2019-2021)

• America's 100 Best Hospitals for Critical Care for three years in a row (2019-2021)

• Neurosciences Excellence Award for five years in a row (2017-2021)

• Named Among the Top 5% in the Nation for GI Medical Treatment for three years in a row (2019-2021)

• Five Star Recipient for Esophageal/Stomach Surgeries for six years in a row (2016-2021)

• Five Star Recipient for Colorectal Surgeries in 2021

• Five Star Recipient for Treatment of Pancreatitis in 2021

• Five Star Recipient for Treatment of Respiratory Failure for three years in a row (2019-2021)

• Five Star Recipient for Treatment of Diabetic Emergencies in 2021

Earlier this year, NCH was recognized as one of America's 250 Best Hospitals for a fourth consecutive year (2017-2020). To see the complete list of Healthgrades awards NCH received, visit nch.org/awards.

The hospitals that have achieved the Healthgrades America's 100 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Care, Coronary Intervention, Stroke Care, Pulmonary Care and Critical Care have demonstrated exceptional quality of care. From 2017 through 2019, patients treated at hospitals receiving the America's 100 Best Hospitals for Coronary Intervention Award have, on average, a 46.5 percent lower risk of dying if they were treated in hospitals that did not receive the award. *

"Now more than ever, consumers understand the importance of hospital quality and are starting to become more diligent when researching where to receive care," said Brad Bowman, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, Healthgrades. "When selecting a hospital, consumers can feel confident in the America's 100 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Care, Coronary Intervention, Stroke Care, Pulmonary Care and Critical Care for their commitment to quality care and exceptional outcomes."

"We are incredibly honored to receive these awards as they validate our never-ending commitment to provide the highest quality care to the people in our community. This recognition is the result of a collective effort of many people throughout the organization all working towards the same goals. Despite unprecedented issues related to COVID-19, we continue to provide high quality care throughout this crisis while keeping our staff, visitors and patients safe. As a community healthcare organization, we take great pride in our mission 'to improve the health of the community we serve and to meet individuals' healthcare needs.'"said NCH Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President, Alan B. Loren, M.D., PhD.

For its analysis, Healthgrades evaluated approximately 45 million Medicare inpatient records for nearly 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 16 states. 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). The complete Healthgrades 2021 Report to the Nation and detailed study methodology, can be found at https://partners.healthgrades.com/healthgrades-quality-solutions/healthgrades-quality-awards.

About Northwest Community Healthcare (NCH)

Named one of Healthgrades' America's 250 best hospitals, Northwest Community Healthcare (NCH) is celebrating more than 60 years of exceptional care. The Arlington Heights campus is home to a 509-bed hospital with full-service retail pharmacy, behavioral health center and state-of-the-art NCH Wellness Center with spa.

Throughout the northwest suburbs, NCH has 23 doctor's offices; five immediate care centers; seven physical rehabilitation sites; and 13 lab locations. Board-certified primary and specialty care physicians see 200,000 patients a year and the hospital treats 20,000 inpatients annually.

With a nationwide ranking in the top 5 percent for cardiac care, NCH also holds numerous distinctions for its breast care, pulmonology, GI, colorectal and neuroscience programs. Emergent care includes a Level II Trauma Center, Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and dedicated pediatric emergency department.

* Statistics are based on Healthgrades analysis of MedPAR data for years 2017 through 2019 and represent three-year estimates for Medicare patients only. For appendectomy and bariatric surgery, Healthgrades used inpatient data from 16 states that provide all-payer data for years 2016 through 2018.