How Central Mass Hospitals Ranked: NE’s Best Hospitals Rated By Patients

Monday, January 07, 2013

Joe Dilworth, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

Named the #1 hospital in New England by patient rating, Clinton Hospital in Clinton, MA, is a 41-bed community hospital.

What's the best hospital in Central Mass, according to its patients? GoLocal’s analysis of more than 50,000 government-sponsored patient surveys of 176 hospitals in New England has the answer, and it’s a great one. The #1 hospital in New England is right here in Central Mass--Clinton Hospital. See how the rest of the region's hospitals placed, below. (For a look at New England’s Top 20 hospitals, go here.)

Clinton Excels

Clinton Hospital, a 41-bed community hospital in Clinton, took the #1 spot in the ranking, and for good reasons, all regarding quality care for the patient.

Staff members say they work hard to provide patients with quality care and are willing to go the extra mile if necessary. “We make every effort to truly listen to our patients’ needs and we do everything we can to safely meet those requests,” said Clinton Hospital Vice President of Quality and Resource Management Karen Plainte. “In addition to checking on our patients at least once an hour, staff at every level are responsive and focused on meeting our patient’s needs, whatever they may be.”

The hospital is known for its cleanliness, tidiness, and attention to detail. The administration has recently revised and streamlined the discharge paperwork to save patients the trouble of sifting through materials to find their instructions.

Communication Is Key

Clinton Hospital staff members insist that effective communication is a major component of their success. They work to ensure that sound communication is maintained with patients even after discharge.

“During a patient’s stay, we regularly check in to ensure that all of their questions are answered,” said Plainte. “And once a patient goes home, we often provide follow-up phone calls to see how he or she is doing.”

While communication between hospital staff and patients is highly important, communication between staff members themselves is also crucial. In an attempt to keep staffers on the same page, Clinton Hospital adopted an electronic medical record last year to ensure that all of a patient’s information is safely and accurately stored in a single location.

The importance of strong communication skills is reflected in the national results of the HCAHPS Survey, the patient-centered measurement that was used to compile GoLocal’s rankings. According to Susan Edgman-Levitan, Director for the Stoeckle Center For Primary Care Innovation at Mass General, there is a direct correlation between patients rating a hospital highly and a patient reporting excellent communications with nursing staffs.

“When you think about it, how you do in the hospital and the kind of care you receive from the nursing staff is critical so it’s not a surprise that the nursing items are most strongly correlated,” Edgman-Levitan told The New England Journal of Medicine. “And we also think that some of the nursing items are a proxy for teamwork.”

Other Central Mass Hospitals

Of the hospitals in the Worcester area, five found themselves within the top 100. After Clinton Hospital, here’s how they rank. (For a chart with survey results, go here.)

#2 in Central Mass: Baystate Mary Lane Hospital, Ware
New England ranking: #27
Best ratings: Of those who responded, 77% would definitely recommend the hospital and 80% said their rooms were always clean.

#3 in Central Mass: Milford Regional Medical Center, Milford
New England ranking: #56
Best ratings: Of those surveyed, 83% reported that doctors always communicated well and 81% said nurses always communicated well.

#4 in Central Mass: Athol Memorial Hospital, Athol
New England ranking #69
Best Ratings: Of those questioned, 73% said they always got the help that they wanted and 83% said their rooms were always clean.

#5 in Central Mass: Wing Memorial Hospital and Medical Center, Palmer
New England ranking: #78
Of the pool of respondents, 57% said it was always quiet at night and 70% said their pain was always controlled.

Outside the Top 100

Outside of the top 100, Southbridge’s Harrington Memorial Hospital ranked #101, Ayer’s Nashoba Valley Medical Center settled at #118, Worcester’s St. Vincent ended at #125, Leominster’s HealthAlliance Hospital finished at #131.

Garnder’s Heywood Hospital was slotted at #132, Adcare Hospital of Worcester ranked #158, and Worcester’s UMass Memorial Medical Center was the lowest-ranked Central Mass hospital at #167.