A national ranking of hospitals based on what patients get for their money revealed a surprise – the top local finisher was the humble Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center.
The “Hospital Value Index” is one of the first to rate medical centers not only for quality of care, but for affordability, efficiency and patient satisfaction.
“The vast majority of hospitals offer high-quality care. But what we found was for the price, essentially, the same level of quality varies widely across the United States, even across the same markets,” said John Morrow, a senior adviser to Data Advantage, which authored the report.
Only a handful of New York-area hospitals made the top 100, with Bronx-Lebanon coming in at No. 9.
The Bronx’s Westchester Square Medical Center, which the state Health Department slated to close based on a report on ailing hospitals, was the city’s No. 2 value, at 16th nationwide.
It was followed by Brooklyn’s Brookdale University Medical Center, which was 48th nationally.
Surprisingly, no Manhattan hospitals were rated in the top 100.
“You’ve got these hospitals that are typically smaller, typically less well known, doing a fine job of blocking and tackling on a daily basis, and they charge less for it – and that matters,” said Morrow.
In calculating a hospital’s rank, “quality” counted 45 percent, “affordability and efficiency” 45, and “patient satisfaction” 10.
The HVI also ranks what it calls “Best Kept Secrets.”
On that list were: St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Yonkers, Forest Hills Hospital in Queens, and Eastern Long Island Hospital and Southhampton Hospital, both in Suffolk.