Beebe Medical Center ranked one of America’s 100 Best Hospitals for orthopedics, joint replacement, and spine surgery

Beebe Medical Center, while not a big-city hospital, has developed a big-city expertise when it comes to orthopedic surgery. The medical center has 11 experienced orthopedic surgeons on its medical staff who perform innovative and minimally invasive surgeries, utilize the latest technologies and work with a hospital team of dedicated professionals who not only provide excellent care, but also understand the importance of outstanding service and attention to individual needs.

HealthGrades, the nation’s leading independent source of physician information and hospital quality ratings, has named Beebe Medical Center one of America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Orthopedics, Joint Replacement, and Spine Surgery for 2012.

For the sixth year in a row, HealthGrades, basing its rankings on Medicare-tabulated patient outcomes, named Beebe Medical Center the best on all of the Delmarva Peninsula for orthopedics, joint replacement and spine surgery.

HealthGrades also gave Beebe Medical Center seven 5-star ratings for orthopedic surgeries, noting that patients treated at 5-star-rated hospitals experience a 73 percent lower risk of mortality and a 63 percent lower risk of complications compared to 1-star-rated hospitals.

“This is truly an honor for our surgeons, our staff members, and for Beebe Medical Center,” said Jeffery M. Fried, Beebe Medical Center president and CEO. “These multiple ratings reflect the hard work and dedication to quality, not only by our orthopedic surgeons and specialized nurses and technicians, but by every member of the Beebe team who works in our operating rooms, our labs, our imaging centers, our physical rehab facilities - everyone who supports the care and treatment of these patients.”

Beebe Medical Center’s comprehensive orthopedic program includes presurgery education classes for patients undergoing joint replacement and physical therapy programs following surgery. It also offers education for patients undergoing spinal surgery. The hospital has a dedicated unit on the third floor with 29 patient rooms for orthopedic surgery patients and uses the latest in healthcare technologies to ensure optimal patient recovery. The unit also has a dedicated wing for joint replacement patients. Last year Beebe Medical Center orthopaedic surgeons performed more than 1,000 operations including 500 knee procedures, 350 hip procedures and 350 spinal procedures.

“Patients today have a wide array of options when it comes to choosing a healthcare provider,” said Kerry Hicks, HealthGrades chief executive officer. “At HealthGrades, we are proud to have led the way for empowering patient choice based on objective clinical outcomes and access to actionable quality measures. We commend Beebe Medical Center for its superior quality and support of consumerism and transparency.”

HealthGrades rates hospitals independently based on data that hospitals submit to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. No hospital can opt in or out of being rated, and no hospital pays to be rated.