Mortality Rates

Your article “High Mortality Rate at Eight Hospitals” (June 11) did not provide adequate information and explanation to the public.

Robert F. Kennedy Medical Center has provided quality acute health care services for its community for over 65 years. As a base station for designated paramedic units of L.A. County, our paramedic patients account for as much as one-third of the deaths experienced in some categories, which is a reflection of their high level of acuity upon arrival at the medical center. The socioeconomic characteristics of our Medicare patients also contribute to the complexity of the illnesses experienced by the medical center. Lastly, and most significantly, the data utilized reflects deaths that result up to one year post-discharge from the hospital, with no consideration as to where the death occurs, such as home or in an unrelated accident.

We are greatly concerned because the impression given by the article is that a high mortality rate translates into low-quality care, and it does not.

Mortality rates alone are not an effective means of demonstrating the quality of care or performance at a health care institution.

PATRICIA E. CUNNINGHAM

President & CEO

Robert F. Kennedy Medical Center, Hawthorne