The HeartCare Center at Blanchard Valley Hospital (BVH), Findlay, has received a 5-star rating for coronary interventional procedures from independent national ratings agency HealthGrades. A 5-star quality rating indicates that the HeartCare Center at Blanchard Valley Hospital has clinical performance that is better than expected when opening blocked arteries in the heart.

The recognition is based on the Thirteenth Annual HealthGrades Hospital Quality in America study, which analyzes patient outcomes at virtually all of the nation's hospitals.

The HealthGrades study, the largest annual report of its kind, analyzed patient outcomes in nearly 40 million Medicare hospitalization records from 5,000 hospitals over the years 2007, 2008 and 2009.

HealthGrades' hospital ratings are the most widely used objective, actionable quality measures readily available to the public and are based solely on clinical performance.

Other Blanchard Valley Health System HealthGrades awards include:

• Recipient of the HealthGrades 2010 Patient Safety AwardTM
• Recipient of the HealthGrades Orthopedic Surgery Excellence AwardTM
• Ranked Among the Top 5% in the Nation for Overall Orthopedic Services
• Five-Star Rated for Overall Orthopedic Services
• Five-Star Rated for Joint Replacement
• Five-Star Rated for Spine SurgeryFive-Star Rated for Total Knee Replacement
• Five-Star Rated for Hip Fracture Repair
• Five-Star Rated for Back and Neck Surgery (Spinal Fusion)

The 2011 HealthGrades hospital ratings are available at www.healthgrades.com, HealthGrades' public Web site.

HealthGrades RatingsHealthGrades' hospital ratings and awards reflect the track record of patient outcomes at hospitals in the form of mortality and complication rates. HealthGrades rates hospitals independently based on data that hospitals submit to the federal government. No hospital can opt in or out of being rated, and no hospital pays to be rated.

For 28 procedures and treatments, HealthGrades issues star ratings that reflect the mortality and complication rates for each category of care. Hospitals receiving a five-star rating have mortality or complication rates that are below the national average, to a statistically significant degree. A three-star rating means the hospital performs as expected. One-star ratings indicate the hospital's mortality or complication rates in that procedure or treatment are statistically higher than average. Because the risk profiles of patient populations at hospitals are not alike, HealthGrades risk-adjusts the data to allow for apples-to-apples comparisons.
For more information on the HealthGrades study, including the complete methodology, visit www.healthgrades.com.