HUNTSVILLE – Huntsville Hospital is one of America’s 50 Best Hospitals for
Cardiac Surgery™ and one of America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Spine Surgery according to a
national study by Healthgrades, the leading online resource for comprehensive information about
physicians and hospitals. Every year, Healthgrades evaluates hospital performance at almost
4,500 hospitals nationwide for 32 of the most common inpatient procedures and conditions, as
well as tracking outcomes in appendectomy and bariatric surgery using all-payer data provided
by 15 states and the District of Columbia.*
Huntsville Hospital is the only hospital in Alabama to be among the Top 5% of Hospitals
in the Nation for Spine Surgery. Huntsville Hospital is also the only Hospital in Alabama to
receive the America’s 50 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Surgery for 5 consecutive years (2015-
2019).
These achievements are part of findings released in the Healthgrades 2019 Report to the
Nation. The new report demonstrates how clinical performance differs dramatically between
hospitals nationally, regionally and at the local level, and the impact that this variation has on
health outcomes. Additionally, from 2015 through 2017, patients treated at hospitals receiving
the America’s 50 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Surgery Award have, on average, a 51.1 percent
lower risk of dying than if they were treated in hospitals that did not receive the award.*
Similarly, from 2015 through 2017, patients treated at hospitals receiving the America’s 100
Best Hospitals for Spine Surgery Award have, on average, a 48.2 percent lower risk of
experiencing a complication while in the hospital than if they were treated in hospitals that did
not receive the award.*
“Hospitals that have achieved the Healthgrades America’s 50 Best Hospitals for Cardiac
Care and America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Spine Surgery have proven their dedication to quality
care and exceptional outcomes,” said Brad Bowman, MD, Chief Medical Officer at
Healthgrades. “Consumers should consider hospital quality when navigating their care journeys,
and these recognitions distinguish Huntsville Hospital in the marketplace.”
David Spillers, Huntsville Hospital Health System CEO, said the ratings are “a great
recognition of the quality of our program. To be included among the best in the nation and in
Alabama is a reflection of the great work done here. We give the credit to all of the members of
our Cardiac Surgery and Spine Surgery teams for earning these distinctions.”
Huntsville Hospital was also recognized for the following clinical achievements:
Five-Star Distinction for Coronary Bypass Surgery for 12 years in a row (2008-
2019)
Five-Star Distinction for Spinal Fusion Surgery for 3 years in a row (2017-2019)
Five-Star Distinction for Total Knee Replacement in 2019
For its analysis, Healthgrades evaluated approximately 45 million Medicare inpatient
records for almost 4,500 short-term acute care hospitals nationwide to assess hospital
performance in 32 common conditions and procedures, and evaluated outcomes in
appendectomy and bariatric surgery using all-payer data provided by 15 states and the District of
Columbia. Healthgrades recognizes a hospital’s quality achievements for cohort-specific
performance, specialty area performance, and overall clinical quality. Individual procedure or
condition cohorts are designated as 5-star (statistically significantly better than expected), 3-star
(not statistically different from expected) and 1-star (statistically significantly worse than
expected) categories. The complete Healthgrades 2019 Report to the Nation and detailed study
methodology can be found at healthgrades.com/quality.
Media Release/Steve Doyle/Senior Marketing Coordinator/Huntsville Hospital Marketing & Public Relations
