St. Luke's Among America's 50 Best Hopsitals

CHESTERFIELD IS HOME TO THE ONLY AMERICA'S 50 BEST HOSPITAL IN MISSOURI: ST. LUKE'S HOSPITAL
For the fifth year in a row, St. Luke's Hospital has been named on the prestigious HealthGrades list, ranking among the top one percent in the nation for clinical excellence.

CHESTERFIELD, MO, February 23, 2011 - St. Luke's Hospital has been named one of America's 50 Best Hospitals for the fifth year in a row, making it the only hospital in Missouri to achieve the designation since the inception of this HealthGrades list.

As one of America's 50 Best Hospitals, St. Luke's ranks among the top one percent of hospitals in the nation for clinical excellence based on survival and complication rates. According to HealthGrades, patients admitted to an America's 50 Best Hospital are more likely to have successful treatment without major complications.

"St. Luke's healthcare team is committed to making a difference for each patient," said Gary Olson, St. Luke's Hospital president and chief executive officer. "Our experienced and dedicated physicians, staff and volunteers achieve this by providing the highest quality care with compassion every day."

HealthGrades is an independent healthcare ratings organization. To determine America's 50 Best Hospitals, HealthGrades analyzed millions of Medicare patient records from 1999 through 2009 for 26 common medical procedures and conditions from the treatment of heart attack to knee replacement surgery. The data is risk adjusted, which takes into account differing levels of severity of patient illness at different hospitals and allows for hospitals to be compared equally. HealthGrades rates each of the nation's nearly 5,000 non-government hospitals. No hospital can opt in or opt out of this analysis.

In October, St. Luke's Hospital was ranked number one in Missouri for overall cardiac care and best in St. Louis for cardiac surgery according to another report published by HealthGrades. The study also ranked St. Luke's number one in the state for pulmonary, gastrointestinal and critical care services.

About St. Luke's Hospital:
St. Luke's Hospital, located in Chesterfield, Missouri, is a regional healthcare provider committed to improving the quality of life for patients and the community. The 493-bed, not-for-profit hospital offers more than 60 specialty areas including cardiovascular care and surgery, cancer care, neurosurgery and neurology, orthopedics, maternity and other women's health, general medicine, outpatient services, pediatrics and comprehensive surgical services.

St. Luke's Hospital is part of the Spirit of Women Hospital Network, a coalition of hospitals and healthcare providers across the United States that ascribes to the highest standards of excellence in women's health, education and community outreach. For more information about St. Luke's Hospital, please visit www.stlukes-stl.com/newsroom.

About HealthGrades
HealthGrades is America's most trusted, independent source of physician information and hospital quality outcomes. HealthGrades' online properties are the nation's leading destination for physician search and empower more than 200 million consumers annually to make informed health care decisions.