Press Release
Date: 07-13-12Name: Tiffany L. Smith Phone: 973 972 1025
Email: smithtl@umdnj.edu
HealthGrades Recognizes UMDNJ-University Hospital with Neurosurgery Award and Cardiac Certificate
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NEWARK -- University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-The University Hospital received the 2012 HealthGrades Neurosurgery Excellence Award� at a recognition ceremony on June 29. The hospital was also recognized for its 5-Star rating for the treatment of heart failure in 2012. HealthGrades� is a leading independent healthcare ratings organization analyzing 5,000 hospitals each year.
The neurosurgery award denotes that UMDNJ-The University Hospital is in the top 10 percent of hospitals in the nation for neurosurgery. In addition, UMDNJ-The University Hospital is one of only three hospitals in New Jersey to receive the HealthGrades Neurosurgery Excellence Award� in 2012.
In accepting the neurosurgery award, Charles J. Prestigiacomo, MD, FAANS, FACS, Chief of Service, Department of Neurosurgery, UMDNJ-The University Hospital, and Professor and Chair, Department of Neurological Surgery, UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, said, �I accept this on behalf of all the members of the Neurosurgery team. I also accept this on behalf of the patients for whom we have tirelessly worked to provide the best care any team can ever provide. They trust our team to give them the best, and put their lives or their loved ones� lives into our hands. And we deliver�every day.�
UMDNJ-The University Hospital�s success in treating heart failure patients earned it the HealthGrades� 5-Star rating in that specialty. According to HealthGrades�, heart failure patients have a 73 percent lower risk of dying at 5-Star rated hospitals compared to 1-Star rated hospitals, and a 54 percent lower chance of dying in a 5-Star rated hospital compared with the national average.
�The management of the heart failure patient can be rightly characterized in the truest sense as a team effort,� said Marc Klapholz, MD, FACC, Professor, Chair and Chief of Service, Department of Medicine, UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, and Director, Cardiology, UMDNJ-The University Hospital. �Our success is a reflection of an integrated team that addresses not only the immediate medical cause for the decompensation that results in the admission, but recognizes that there was a yesterday, that there is a tomorrow, and that there is a home that the patient left and is going back to. All of this must be addressed if we want to alter the trajectory of the patient�s chronic illness.�
After the recognition program, the hospital�s executive leadership, along with representatives from HealthGrades�, visited the Neurosurgery and Cardiology Departments to congratulate hospital staff.
A recognized expert in measuring healthcare quality since 1998, HealthGrades� provides objective information on clinical outcomes, patient safety and patient satisfaction to help consumers make an informed decision on choosing care from virtually any hospital in the nation. The Neurosurgery Excellence Award� and 5-Star Rating for the treatment of heart failure are testaments to UMDNJ-The University Hospital�s outstanding survival rates in treating neurosurgery and heart failure patients.
HealthGrades quality ratings are derived from the following data sources:
Medicare inpatient data from the Medicare Provider Analysis and Review (MedPAR) database, purchased from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, for years 2008 through 2010.
Inpatient data for maternity care, gynecologic surgery, bariatric surgery, and appendectomy provided by 19 states (AZ, CA, CO, FL, IA, MA, MD, ME, NJ, NV, NY, OR, RI, TX, UT, VA, WA, and WI) for years 2007 through 2009.
Interviews with neurosurgery and cardiology physicians and their patients may be arranged by calling Tiffany L. Smith at 973-972-1025. Tours of the neurosurgery and cardiology units, as well as observations of surgical procedures in them, also can be arranged.
UMDNJ-The University Hospital is one of the United States' leading university medical centers and the principal teaching hospital for University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ)-New Jersey Medical School (NJMS). Located in the Central Ward of Newark, the hospital offers the highest quality of care across many medical specialties.
The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) is New Jersey�s only health sciences university with more than 6,000 students on five campuses attending three medical schools, the State�s only dental school, a graduate school of biomedical sciences, a school of health related professions, a school of nursing and New Jersey�s only school of public health. UMDNJ operates University Hospital, a Level I Trauma Center in Newark, and University Behavioral HealthCare, which provides a continuum of healthcare services with multiple locations throughout the State.
Photo: (l) to (r)
Charles J. Prestigiacomo, MD, FAANS, FACS, Chief of Service, Department of Neurosurgery, UMDNJ-The University Hospital, and Professor and Chairman, Department of Neurological Surgery, UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, James R. Gonzalez, MPH, FACHE, (Interim) President and CEO, UMDNJ-The University Hospital, Marc Klapholz, MD, FACC, Professor, Chair and Chief of Service, Department of Medicine, UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, and Director, Cardiology, UMDNJ-The University Hospital, and Lisa Esch, Vice President of Professional Services, HealthGrades�, at the HealthGrades� recognition ceremony on June 29.
To view additional photos from the HealthGrades� recognition program at UMDNJ-The University Hospital, please visit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/university_hospital/sets/72157630406478888/ .
