Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center Ranked #1 in Florida for Overall Cardiac Services and Cardiac Surgery

Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center announced today that it has been ranked #1 in Florida for overall cardiac services and cardiac surgery by HealthGrades, the leading healthcare ratings company. Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center is also a recipient of the 2009 clinical excellence award for overall cardiac services and ranked among the top five percent in the nation for the third year in a row. In addition, Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center received the following recognitions:

· Recipient of the HealthGrades Cardiac Surgery Excellence Award™ 2 years in a row

· Ranked Among the Top 5% in the Nation for Cardiac Surgery

· Ranked Among the Top 5% in the Nation for Cardiology Services 3 years in a row

· Five-Star Rated for Overall Cardiac Services 3 years in a row

· Five-Star Rated for Cardiac Surgery 2 years in a row

· Five-Star Rated for Cardiology Services 6 years in a row

· Five-Star Rated for Coronary Bypass Surgery 3 years in a row

· Five-Star Rated for Coronary Interventional Procedures 6 years in a row

· Five-Star Rated for Treatment of Heart Attack 6 years in a row

· Five-Star Rated for Treatment of Heart Failure 3 years in a row

· Received the Highest Possible Star Ratings for Coronary Bypass Surgery

· Received the Highest Possible Star Ratings for Treatment of Heart Attack 3 years in a row

· Received the Highest Possible Star Ratings for Treatment of Heart Failure 3 years in a row

· Five-Star Rated for Total Hip Replacement 2 years in a row

· Five-Star Rated for Hip Fracture Repair 2 years in a row

· Recipient of the HealthGrades Pulmonary Care Excellence Award™

· Ranked Among the Top 5% in the Nation for Overall Pulmonary Services

· Five-Star Rated for Overall Pulmonary Services

· Five-Star Rated for Treatment of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease 3 years in a row

· Five-Star Rated for Treatment of Pneumonia 2 years in a row

· Received the Highest Possible Star Ratings for Treatment of Pneumonia

· Five-Star Rated for Carotid Surgery 3 years in a row

· Ranked Among the Top 10% in the Nation for GI Medical Treatment

· Five-Star Rated for Treatment of Bowel Obstruction 4 years in a row

· Five-Star Rated for Treatment of Pancreatitis

· Five-Star Rated for Treatment of Sepsis

· Five-Star Rated for Treatment of Pulmonary Embolism

· Five-Star Rated for Treatment of Bowel Obstruction 4 years in a row

"Quality patient care is our top priority," said David Pettit, CEO of PBGMC. "Recognition from an objective, independent source such as HealthGrades validates the efforts our physicians, nurses and staff deliver to the people of our community every day."

These findings were included in the eleventh annual HealthGrades Hospital Quality in America Study, which is the most comprehensive study of its kind, analyzing more than 41 million Medicare hospitalization records from 2005 to 2007 at the nation's approximately 5,000 non-federal hospitals. According to the study, if all hospitals performed at the level of five-star rated hospitals, 237,420 Medicare deaths could potentially have been prevented over the three years studied. More than half of those preventable deaths were associated with four conditions: sepsis, pneumonia, heart failure and respiratory failure.

While overall death rates declined from 2005 to 2007, the nation's best-performing hospitals were able to reduce preventable deaths at a much faster rate than poor-performing hospitals, resulting in large state, regional and hospital-to-hospital variations in the quality of patient care, the study found.

Based on the study, HealthGrades today made available its 2009 quality ratings for virtually every hospital in the country at www.healthgrades.com, a Web site designed to help individuals research and compare local healthcare providers.

On its Web site, HealthGrades offers, free to consumers, quality ratings of 27 procedures and treatments for virtually every hospital in the country. The Web site is designed so that consumers can easily compare patient outcomes at their local hospitals for procedures ranging from aortic aneurysm repair to bypass surgery. Each hospital receives a star rating based on its patient outcomes in terms of mortality or complication rates for each procedure or treatment. Hospitals with outcomes that are above average to a statistically significant degree receive a five-star rating. Hospitals with average outcomes receive a three-star rating, and hospitals with outcomes that are below average receive a one-star rating. Because no two hospitals or their patients' risk profiles are alike, HealthGrades employs extensive risk-adjustment algorithms to ensure that it is making analogous comparisons.

About Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center

Recognized by HealthGrades as one of "America's 50 Best Hospitals" for the second year in a row, PBGMC is a 199-bed acute care hospital serving the medical and health care needs of Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast for 40 years. PBGMC offers a broad range of services, including the #1 ranked open-heart and comprehensive cardiac care program in the state, according to HealthGrades. It also offers, orthopedics, diagnostic imaging, general surgery, outpatient surgery and 24-hour emergency care. For more information or physician referral, please call 561-625-5070 or visit the website at www.pbgmc.com.