GRAND RAPIDS — Spectrum Health-owned hospitals in Grand Rapids, East Grand Rapids, Zeeland and St. Joseph are among seven in Michigan ranked in an annual list of the 100 Top Hospitals in the U.S.
The Grand Rapids-based health system’s Butterworth and Blodgett hospitals rated among the top 15 major teaching hospitals in the annual list prepared by IBM Watson Health. Lakeland Medical Center in St. Joseph, which Spectrum acquired last October and is now known as Spectrum Health Lakeland, ranked among the top 25 top teaching hospitals for the second time. Zeeland Community Hospital made the list of top 25 small community hospitals for the 10th time.
“Being ranked among the best in the nation is an honor and a great reflection of the people who provide exceptional care at Spectrum Health,” President and CEO Tina Freese Decker said in a statement. “This recognition validates the excellent outcomes and care provided by our caregivers and team members. It translates to better care and value for our communities.”
Using publicly available data, IBM Watson annually evaluates hospitals across the country in 10 operational and clinical areas and publishes the list of 100 Top Hospitals. If every hospital in the nation performed as well as the top 100, IBM Watson estimates it would result in saving 103,000 lives of Medicare patients, 38,000 fewer complications, more than $8.2 billion in inpatient cost savings, and about 155,000 fewer patients getting readmitted within 30 days of discharge.
“At a time when research shows that the U.S. spends nearly twice as much on health care as other high-income countries, yet still has poorer population health outcomes, the 100 Top Hospitals are bucking the trend by delivering consistently better care at a lower cost,” said Ekta Punwani, 100 Top Hospitals program leader at IBM Watson Health. “The hospitals on this list represent the current vanguard in value-based care and we applaud their commitment to quality.”
Other Michigan hospitals on the 100 Top Hospitals list for 2019 are Ascension Providence Hospital in Southfield, St. Joseph Mercy in Ann Arbor, and Garden City Hospital.