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Top performing hospitals

By A Treasure Coast Essay

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wqcs/local-wqcs-987592.mp3

Fort Pierce, FL – Five hospitals in the Treasure Coast area have been recognized as top performers in quality and safety by The Joint Commission, a not-for-profit body that accredits and certifies health-care organizations. The five are Lawnwood Regional Medical Center in Fort Pierce, St. Lucie Medical Center in Port St. Lucie, Sebastian River Medical Center in Sebastian, Martin Memorial Medical Center in Stuart and Raulerson Hospital in Okeechobee. 405 hospitals in the country made the list - which is only about 14 percent of the hospitals accredited by The Joint Commission. Five categories were measured - heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia, surgical care and children's asthma. Lawnwood - which is owned by HCA, the big private hospital operator -- was the only hospital to meet the criteria in all five categories. It was one of the few hospitals on the list to track treatment of children's asthma. Florida had the most hospitals on The Joint Commission's list of top performers - 51. California was second with 34. The Joint Commission's membership takes in 96 percent of all U.S. hospital beds. Treasure Coast boosters like to brag about the hospitals in this area. It's nice to have that boast confirmed. For 88.9 FM, this is Paul Janensch.
Treasure Coast essayist Paul Janensch was a newspaper editor and taught journalism at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut.