Glendale Adventist honored for low death rate
The doctors and nurses of Glendale Adventist Medical Center were honored by local officials this week for their work in achieving the nation’s fifth lowest hospital mortality rate.
The rankings, compiled by the trade publication Modern Healthcare, compared monthly data from 2009 to 2012 that focused on people hospitalized for heart attacks, heart failure and pneumonia.
Adventist’s annual mortality rate was 9.03 patients per 1,000, while the national average was 12.89, according to the report.
New York University’s Langone Medical Center had the lowest rate with 8.2.
Dr. Simon Keushkerian, the hospital’s chief of staff, summed up what this meant at a reception Wednesday.
“To be ranked fifth, that means there were hundreds of more lives saved in this hospital, which means there were thousands of more families spared from the devastation of losing their loved ones,” he said.
Hospital CEO Kevin Roberts said the high skill of Glendale Adventist’s 700 doctors and 1,100 nurses are at the core of carrying out practices that save lives.
“Anytime a hospital administrator can plant a stake in the ground to show that their hospital is producing those kinds of outcomes … what this recognition shows is that we’re heading in the right direction,” said Roberts, who is also a licensed nurse. “We’re doing the right thing and it produces wonderful things for the community.”
Glendale Mayor Dave Weaver and former Assemblyman Anthony Portantino as well as representatives from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and State Sen. Carol Liu (D-La Cañada Flintridge) presented Keushkerian with letters of recognition.
After he handed out a commendation from the city, Weaver said he was born at the hospital and celebrated many life milestones there.
“I’ve been through three generations of maternity wards,” he said. “One day I’ll be back and I’m confident that you’ll take care of me.”
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Follow Arin Mikailian on Twitter: @ArinMikailian.
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