St. Luke's Health System announced Tuesday, Jan. 17, that its hospitals in Boise, Meridian and Magic Valley received the 2017 Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence™ from Healthgrades.

The recognition puts these St. Luke's hospitals in the top 5% for clinical excellence among more than 4,500 hospitals nationwide.

“This recognition is a powerful affirmation of the excellence our physicians, nurses, clinicians, technicians and dozens of other highly committed professionals demonstrate every day, with every patient,” said Dr. David C. Pate, St. Luke’s Health System president and CEO.

“We have been striving to provide the highest quality health care in the nation to the people we serve, d this recognition is a great external validation of our progress,” said Dr. Pate.  “Ultimately, our goals are zero – zero harm, zero patient safety events, zero complications.”

From 2013 through 2015, patients treated in hospitals that received the Healthgrades’ Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence had, on average, a 26.2% lower risk of dying (across 19 procedures and conditions where mortality is the clinical outcome), than if they were treated in hospitals that did not achieve this distinction. During this same period, if all other hospitals had performed at that same level, more than 160,000 lives potentially could have been saved. One example: the average patient treated at a Distinguished hospital had a 25% lower risk of dying from a stroke versus at a hospital without the distinction.

“Consumers are doing their research when it comes to selecting the hospital where they receive their care, and high-marks in quality are a valuable differentiator that can set organizations apart,” said Brad Bowman, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, Healthgrades. “We commend hospitals that have achieved Healthgrades 2017 Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence for demonstrating an unwavering commitment to high quality care for their patients.”

The 258 recipients of the 2017 award stand out for overall clinical excellence across a broad spectrum of care. During the study period, these hospitals showed superior performance in clinical outcomes for patients in the Medicare population across at least 21 of 32 of the most common inpatient conditions and procedures. More Information: www.healthgrades.com/quality.