Thomson Reuters’ annual list of the nation’s 100 Top Hospitals includes Andalusia Regional Hospital, marking the third time the hospital has been included.

Thomson Reuters publishes the list annually. In determining the list, it evaluates hospitals on measures of overall organization performance, including patient care, operational efficiency, and financial stability. It compares hospitals only against similar facilities in terms of size and teaching status.

ARH also was included on the Top 100 Hospitals list for 2005 and 2007.

“It is truly an honor to be recognized as one of the 100 Top Hospitals,” ARH CEO Mark Dooley said. “When you look at the performance areas included in the criteria, it is clear that this is an award that recognizes performance across all areas, including patient safety, outcomes, satisfaction, efficiency, and finance. We are blessed with a staff that understands the importance of each of these and strives to excel every day. To be recognized for a third time is a testament to the commitment of our staff.”

To conduct the 100 Top Hospitals study, Thomson Reuters researchers evaluated 2,914 short-term, acute care, non-federal hospitals. They used public information — Medicare cost reports, Medicare Provider Analysis and Review (MedPAR) data, and core measures and patient satisfaction data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospital Compare Web site. Hospitals do not apply, and winners do not pay to market this honor.

The winning hospitals were announced in the March 28 edition of Modern Healthcare magazine.

“This year’s 100 Top Hospitals award winners have delivered exemplary results, despite volatility from healthcare reform,” said Jean Chenoweth, senior vice president at Thomson Reuters. “The leadership teams at these organizations have dealt with enormous ambiguity, yet remained focused on mission and excellence across the hospital which drove national benchmarks to new highs.”

If all Medicare inpatients received the same level of care as those treated in the award-winning facilities:

• Nearly 116,000 additional patients would survive each year.

• More than 197,000 patient complications would be avoided annually.

• Expense per adjusted discharge would drop by $462.

• The average patient stay would decrease by half a day.

If the same standards were applied to all inpatients, the impact would be even greater.

Andalusia Regional Hospital is a 113- bed acute care, medical-surgical facility offering a wide-range of diagnostic, therapeutic, emergency and surgical services.

More information on this study and other 100 Top Hospitals research is available at www.100tophospitals.com.