August 22nd, 2008

Today the Daily Item reports that all six hospitals in the NorthCentral Valley region of PA are on par with the National Average for heart attack and heart failure deaths, according to a recent study by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.  Five of the six were also average for pneumonia, with Williamsport Hospital and Medical Center faring better than most in the nation.

The Daily Item continues:

“Dr. J. Lawrence Ginsburg, vice president of medical affairs at Evangelical Community Hospital in Lewisburg, said the analysis was a good reflection of all hospitals across the state.

“Recently published data shows that out of 160 hospitals in Pennsylvania, only one hospital was statistically better than the national United States rate, and no hospitals were worse than the average,” Ginsburg said. “Therefore, there is no significant difference in the published mortality data of the area hospitals. We measure and pride ourselves on the positive safety climate that exists here at Evangelical.”