(Brookline, MA, Tuesday, July 7, 2020) – As COVID-19 has shown us, hospitals are needed as essential partners in every community across America.  Hospitals exist to care for the sick, and help every person reach their highest potential for health. In order to do this, hospitals must provide: care of high quality and care that’s not wasteful and unnecessary. They must also exercise civic leadership, by being a positive force in their communities.

The Lown Institute “Hospitals Index” rates every hospital on identical, transparent criteria to help hospitals improve. Transparency and “apples to apples” comparisons of performance are essential to understanding both where hospitals succeed and where improvement is needed. Using multiple sources of data, including a large Medicare database, The Hospitals Index shows how more than 3,300 institutions compare. The Index looks at data from all types of hospitals. In total, they assessed 42 indicators in three categories.

Shannon Brownlee, senior vice president, explains the index and its findings.

SOUNDBITE #1:

THE COVID PANDEMIC HAS CONFIRMED THAT HOSPITALS NEED TO BE GOOD AT THREE THINGS: KEEPING PEOPLE ALIVE, MAKING THE BEST TREATMENT CHOICES FOR EVERY PATIENT, AND CARING FOR THE HEALTH OF EVERYONE IN THE COMMUNITY. A GOOD RANKING NEEDS TO TAKE ALL THREE OF THESE THINGS INTO ACCOUNT.

SOUNDBITE #2:

MOST HOSPITALS PROMISE TO BE GOOD COMMUNITY PARTNERS, BUT HOW DO YOU MEASURE SOMETHING LIKE THAT? THE INDEX MEASURES HOW WELL HOSPITALS SERVE PEOPLE OF COLOR AND PEOPLE WITH LOWER INCOMES; HOW WELL A HOSPITAL’S STAFF ARE PAID COMPARED TO EXECUTIVES; AND HOW NONPROFIT HOSPITALS SPEND THEIR TAX-EXEMPT DOLLARS.

For more information and to find out about your local hospitals, visit LownHospitalsIndex.org.