Audio By Carbonatix
The Arizona Department of Health Services has released a database showing, among other things, which hospitals people tend to leave dead a little more than average.
The database shows rates of dying at hospitals around the state, and it’s separated by the reason that someone’s admitted to the hospital. For example, if you have a heart attack, let’s just say that Havasu Regional Medical Center hasn’t had the greatest successes in the state of Arizona — even though it still ranks on the lower side of “average.”
Not surprisingly, the Mayo Clinic Hospital has the lowest rate of death for people admitted after a heart attack.
Tempe St. Luke’s hospital is “below average” for “dying in the hospital while getting care for a condition that rarely results in death,” and has the highest adjusted rate of deaths in this category. The Guidance Center and Kingman Regional Medical Center were also “below average” here.
Will you step up to support New Times this year?
We’re aiming to raise $30,000 by December 31, so we can continue covering what matters most to you. If New Times matters to you, please take action and contribute today, so when news happens, our reporters can be there.
One of the caveats here is that a lot of hospitals didn’t have enough data for rankings in many of these categories, so it’s hard to compare major hospitals with specialty hospitals or ones in smaller areas.
Another notable ratings includes Western Arizona Regional Medical Center, the only hospital that was rated “below average” in “dying in the hospital because a serious condition was not identified and treated.”
In addition to death rates — which, by the way, were adjusted to include risk factors — the database includes a ton of additional information, including costs for procedures at various hospitals and avoidable stays.
Click here to check it all out for yourself.
Send feedback and tips to the author.
Follow Matthew Hendley on Twitter at @MatthewHendley.
