Redmond Regional Medical Center has received five-star ratings for clinical excellence in orthopedics, gastrointestinal, and prostate surgery according to a comprehensive study released by HealthGrades, the nation’s leading healthcare ratings company.

Redmond Regional’s five-star ratings make them the best rated provider in Northwest Georgia for overall orthopedics, spine surgery, gastrointestinal surgery, and prostatectomy.

“Quality patient care is our top priority,” said Brenda M. Waltz, FACHE, CEO of Redmond Regional Medical Center. “Recognition from an objective, independent source such as HealthGrades validates the efforts our physicians, nurses and staff deliver to the people of Rome and Floyd County every day. We are excited about our scores again this year and feel they are a true testament to the medical technology, clinical practices and procedures at Redmond.”

“Being the best rated hospital in Northwest Georgia for orthopedics, spine surgery, gastrointestinal surgery and prostatectomy is an example of the collaborative effort and knowledge of Redmond associates in providing outstanding care to our patients” stated Dr. Gary Voccio, Harbin Clinic Pulmonary Physician and Chief Medical Officer for Redmond Regional Medical Center. “The HealthGrades’ ratings allow the residents of Rome and Floyd County and outlying areas to make an educated decision when choosing their healthcare provider.”

As part of its ninth annual Hospital Quality in America Study, HealthGrades independently analyzed more than 5,000 hospitals in all 50 states and the District of Columbia for its 2007 ratings, objectively assessing their clinical outcomes and quality. The 40 million hospitalization records utilized in the assessment are publicly available and licensed from the federal government’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The HealthGrades ratings take into account varying degrees of patient severity from hospital to hospital and measure whether patient outcomes for each of more than two dozen procedures and diagnoses are better than expected (5-Star), as expected (3-Star) or worse than expected (1-Star).

“HealthGrades objectively assesses and rates hospital performance in order to help consumers make better and more informed healthcare choices,” explained Samantha Collier, M.D., HealthGrades vice president of medical affairs. “With consumers having a greater stake in their healthcare purchasing decisions, it’s important for them to know that there is a tremendous difference in clinical quality outcomes between hospitals.”

“In Northwest Georgia, Redmond Regional stands out notably in terms of delivering quality care for its patients,” Collier added. “Patients, families and employers here truly have access to healthcare that is among the best in the nation.”

The 2007 HealthGrades ratings for all hospitals nationwide are available, free of charge, on the organization’s award-winning consumer Web site, located at www.healthgrades.com. More than three million individuals and employees of 125 major employers and health plans visit HealthGrades each month to access quality information about hospitals, nursing homes and physicians. HealthGrades also provides consumers and payers with detailed assessments of hospitals’ patient-safety outcomes, based on indicators developed by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.