How Do New York’s Hospitals Rank?
As a patient in the state of New York, the quality of the healthcare services you receive when you visit a hospital surely is important to you.
Indeed, you may be shocked to learn that, according to a recent federal government report card, hospitals in New York rank dead last among the 50 states. You can read more about the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services’ report card and its five-star ratings at CMS.gov.
The Average Star Rating for Hospitals in New York
The CMS report ranked hospitals by giving them a number of stars, one through five. The more stars received, the better the hospital performed in terms of a number of factors, including areas such as:
- Mortality rates
- Effectiveness and timeliness of care
- Readmissions
- Efficient use of medical imaging
- Safety of care
- Overall patient experience.
Image/KSU
While the rate of hospital malpractice was not specifically considered, patient experience and effectiveness of care measures likely reflect this area.
According to the CMS report, the average rating for hospitals across the nation is three stars. However, in New York, the average star rating for hospitals is only 2.26 stars, as reported by The Empire Center.
In fact, only one hospital in the state – the Hospital for Special Surgery – received a five-star rating. Only 12 hospitals received four stars.
Sadly, a whopping 35 hospitals in New York received just a single star, and 58 received only two stars.
States that ranked just above New York include Connecticut, New Jersey, Nevada and Florida. Even hospitals in the poorest state in the nation – Mississippi – fared better, on average, than did hospitals in New York.
The fact that New York hospitals provide the worst care, one average, in the entire country is contrasted with the fact that the costs of hospital care and healthcare in New York are some of the highest in the nation.
Another alarming fact: Some of the lowest scores received by hospitals in the state were that of government-owned institutions.
Improving Quality Care in New York
The star ratings and hospital rankings should serve as a wake-up call to healthcare service providers in New York. It should raise awareness of the fact that more needs to be done to prioritize the overall quality of healthcare services being provided to patients in the state.
These hospital rankings are unacceptable and raise questions about the rate of hospital malpractice and how safe it is for patients to undergo treatment at some of the lowest-ranking hospitals in our state.
Before you seek healthcare, do some investigating on your own to determine how the hospital you are considering scores in terms of patient care, mortality and patient experience. If you are able to do so, choose a hospital with higher ratings.
Author: Jacob Maslow
