For the third year in a row, Edward-Elmhurst Health has been named one of the nation’s 15 Top Health Systems by Fortune/IBM Watson Health. For the second year in a row, Fortune/IBM Watson Health has named Edward Hospital and Elmhurst Hospital among the 100 Top Hospitals in the U.S.
Elmhurst Hospital was ranked No. 1 and Edward Hospital was ranked No. 7 in the Large Community Hospitals category. Edward and Elmhurst are two of only five Illinois hospitals to make the 100 Top Hospitals list. Edward was previously recognized in 2011, 2016, 2018 and 2020. This is the second time Elmhurst Hospital has been honored (2020).
Edward-Elmhurst, one of five systems recognized in the Medium Health Systems category, is the only Illinois system to make this year’s list and only the third Illinois health system to be recognized as a 15 Top Health System since the program began in 2008.
The Fortune/IBM Watson Health program spotlights the best-performing health systems and hospitals in the U.S., based on a balanced scorecard of publicly available clinical, operational and patient satisfaction metrics and data.
Edward-Elmhurst is a 736-bed system that includes three hospitals – Edward Hospital in Naperville, Elmhurst Hospital and Linden Oaks Behavioral Health (on the Edward campus), and an extensive ambulatory care network that provides comprehensive healthcare to residents of the west and southwest suburbs of Chicago.
“The ability of our staff and physicians to maintain this high level of performance during the COVID-19 pandemic is remarkable,” says Mary Lou Mastro, System CEO, Edward-Elmhurst Health. “In all the years I’ve worked in hospitals and healthcare, I have never witnessed anything like it. Although their dedication came with personal sacrifice, there was never a doubt that they would pull together to do whatever was necessary to provide skilled and compassionate care for our patients, families and the community.”
IBM Watson Health identified the top health systems from a rigorous evaluation of 324 health systems and 2,522 hospitals that are members of health systems. The annual list recognizes excellence in clinical outcomes, operational efficiency and patient experience.
As compared to their peer health systems, IBM Watson Health 15 Top Health Systems organizations had better results on performance indicators intended to measure clinical outcomes, operational efficiency and patient experience. These include lower inpatient mortality rates and fewer patient complications, considering patient severity; care that resulted in fewer healthcare-associated infections; lower 30-day readmission rates; shorter lengths of stay; faster emergency care; higher scores on patient ratings of their overall hospital experience and lower episode-of-care expenses for the in-hospital through aftercare process.
IBM Watson Health identified the top hospitals from a rigorous evaluation of 2,675 short-term, acute care, non-federal hospitals in the U.S.
According to IBM Watson Health, as compared to similar hospitals, the hospitals included on the Fortune/IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals list had better results on key clinical and operational performance indicators. These include survival rates, patient complications, healthcare-associated infections, 30-day mortality and 30-day hospital-wide readmission rates, length of stay, throughput in emergency departments, inpatient expenses, profitability and ratings from patients.
This year’s ranking of top hospitals also introduces a measure of hospitals’ contributions to community health with a focus on equity developed by a team of experts at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Equity and the Bloomberg American Health Initiative at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
For the ranking, hospitals were surveyed across three components: 1) assessing hospital contributions to community health as a provider of critical services for community health and preventive care; 2) identifying ways that hospitals contribute to community health as a community partner teaming up with local organizations to implement critical programs; and 3) focusing on ways that hospitals promote community health through their practices as anchor institutions supporting local economic and social progress. Hospitals received credit for meeting a certain number of best practice standards in each component as part of the survey scoring and the new measure led to a change in ranking for more than one-third of the 100 hospitals.
For more information, visit www.100tophospitals.com. To learn more about patient safety and quality of care at Edward-Elmhurst Health, visit www.EEHealth.org/about-us/awards.