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U.S. News and World Report has just released its annual “Best Hospitals” report, for which data journalists analyzed “millions of hospital visits and admissions” to assess the quality of care across a range of specialties, procedures and conditions. 

In a press release (published in full below), Providence Northern California Communications Manager Christian Hill proudly announces that Eureka’s Providence St. Joseph Hospital landed on the publication’s list of Best Regional Hospitals. 

Indeed, U.S. News and World Report evaluated 420 hospitals in the state, with 68 of them meeting the publication’s “high standards” to be ranked among the Best Hospitals in California. St. Joe’s made the cut, just barely, coming in at No. 68.

It did so by being rated “high performing” in seven adult procedures or conditions. Namely, these:

  • colon cancer surgery
  • heart attack
  • heart failure
  • kidney failure
  • hip fracture
  • chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD)
  • pneumonia

St. Joe’s performed less well in other categories — notably, prostate cancer surgery and heart bypass surgery, both of which earned “below average” marks, as well as patient experience, for which St. Joe’s scored just two stars out of a possible five.

The patient experience rankings are broken into 10 categories, and St. Joe’s only managed to score above two stars in one of them: “satisfaction with quality of discharge information.” Eight categories earned two-star ratings while one (“satisfaction with noise volume”) earned a single star.

You can click here to access the full scorecard for St. Joe’s, which includes profiles for individual doctors and report cards for the hospital’s performance across more than two dozen procedures or conditions.

None of the eight other hospitals in the North Coast region made the Best Regional Hospitals list, and only one (Adventist Health Howard Memorial in Willits) ranked as “high performing” on any procedures or conditions.

Mad River Hospital in Arcata ranked higher than St. Joe’s in patient experience (four stars out of five) but also ranked below average for treating heart failure, diabetes and stroke.

Tiny little Jerold Phelps Community Hospital in Garberville was only rated on a single condition, scoring below average for treating pneumonia. The report also notes that nurse staffing is “very low.”

Below is the full press release from Providence:

Following a year of delivering outstanding patient care, Providence St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka is proud to announce that it has been named by U.S. News & World Report to its 2023-2024 Best Hospitals. The rankings assist patients and their doctors in choosing the right hospital for them. Overall, U.S. News ranked St. Joseph Hospital #68 in the state of California out of 420 hospitals evaluated.

St. Joseph Hospital was named as a Best Regional Hospital on the North Coast in the 2023-2024 “Best Hospital” Rankings. U.S. News evaluated more than 4,500 hospitals across 15 specialties and 21 procedures and conditions; only 12% of evaluated hospitals earned a Best Hospitals ranking. Hospitals awarded a “Best” designation excelled at factors such as clinical outcomes, level of nursing care and patient experience.

“Providence St. Joseph Hospital is committed to providing the highest level of care to our friends, families and neighbors in Humboldt County and ensuring every patient has access to leading-edge procedures and research-backed treatments,” Interim Chief Executive and Chief Medical Officer Ranjit Hundal, MD, said. “I want to congratulate our physicians, nurses and staff members who made this achievement possible by providing exceptional outcomes for our community.”

In addition to the Best Regional Hospital recognition, St. Joseph Hospital received acclaim as a High Performing hospital in seven common procedures or conditions – colon cancer surgery, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart attack, heart failure, hip fracture, kidney disease, and pneumonia. This is the highest distinction a hospital can earn for U.S. News’ Best Hospitals Procedures & Conditions ratings.

The annual Procedures & Conditions ratings are designed to assist patients and their doctors in making informed decisions about where to receive care for challenging health conditions or elective procedures.

“For 34 years, U.S. News has provided data-informed rankings to help patients and their doctors find the best hospital to treat their illness or condition,” said Ben Harder, chief of health analysis and managing editor at U.S. News.

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For more information on the U.S. News Best Hospitals, explore Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using #BestHospitals.