Chester County Hospital Named One Of America's 50 Best

WEST CHESTER, PA — Chester County Hospital-Penn Medicine has been named as one of America's top 50 hospitals by a national hospital evaluator.

Healthgrades named Chester County Hospital-Penn Medicine mong its America's 50 Best Hospitals. Healthgrades is a health provider rating organization that evaluates hospital quality for conditions and procedures based solely on clinical outcomes to help consumers understand, compare and evaluate hospital performance.

Chester County Hospital-Penn Medicine, 701 E. Marshall St. in West Chester, earned the designation along with recognition in four specialized areas as one of America's top 100 hospitals. Those include cardiac care, critical care, gastrointestinal care, and stroke care. Chester County Hospital-Penn Medicine also received awards for excellence in general surgery and in pulmonary care.

Chester County Hospital President and CEO Michael Duncan said the designation is a credit to the hospital's workforce.

"Chester County Hospital relentlessly pursues new clinical services and higher levels of quality to provide the best care possible for our community. Being one of the top 50 hospitals in America, as recognized by Healthgrades, is an honor and a testament to our frontline workers. Our workforce has endured many challenges this year as we opened the largest expansion in our history, moved quickly into fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and administering vaccines, and still sought opportunities to advance the level of care we provide. I am filled with pride and admiration for our staff," Duncan said.

Healthgrades creates annual lists of the top 50, 100, and 200 hospitals in the United States. The website is designed to help people make informed decisions before choosing a doctor or hospital.

Making the top 50 puts a hospital in the nation's top 1 percent, according to Healthgrades.

“Now more than ever, consumers understand the importance of researching hospitals and finding the best organization to meet their healthcare needs,” said Dr. Brad Bowman, chief medical officer of Healthgrades.

“Especially in this era of COVID-19, we commend the recipients of the Healthgrades America’s Best Hospitals Awards for their commitment to providing superior outcomes and keeping their communities safe.”

Chester County Hospital earned the following designations from Healthgrades:

• America's 50 Best Hospitals Award™ (2021, 2020)
• America's 100 Best Cardiac Care™ (2021, 2020, 2019)
• America's 100 Best Critical Care™ (2021, 2020, 2019)
• America's 100 Best Gastrointestinal Care™ (2021)
• America's 100 Best Stroke Care™ (2021, 2020, 2019)
• General Surgery Excellence Award™ (2021)
• Pulmonary Care Excellence Award™ (2021, 2020, 2019)

But the current list doesn't account for performance during the coronavirus pandemic. Healthgrades analyzed the performances of nearly 4,500 hospitals using data from medical fiscal years 2017-19.

Healthgrades analyzed each hospital's performance based on 32 conditions and procedures, including heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia, respiratory failure, sepsis, and stroke.

Josh Bakan contributed to this story.

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