Physicians, nurses and staff of Mercy Hospital in Buffalo gather for a special award ceremony. (Courtesy of Mercy Hospital)

Physicians, nurses and staff of Mercy Hospital in Buffalo recently gathered for a special award ceremony for being named one of America's 100 Best Hospitals for Orthopedic Surgery. The celebration, held at the hospital on April 6, also recognized the hospital's ranking in the top five percent of hospitals in the nation for Overall Orthopedic Services, as well as five-star highest quality ratings for total knee replacement, total hip replacement, treatment of hip fracture, and spinal fusion surgery.

The awards were presented by Healthgrades, the nation's leading online resource for comprehensive information about physicians and hospitals. Providing remarks at the presentation were Dr. David Bevilacqua, chairman of Catholic Health, Department of Orthopedics; Christina Kane, vice president of Catholic Health's Musculoskeletal Service Line; C.J. Urlaub, Mercy Hospital president and chief executive officer; and Shari McDonald, vice president of Patient Care Services and chief nursing officer. Linda Wojcio, senior director of Client Development at Healthgrades, was on hand for the award presentation.

"These awards are not achieved by accident and are most certainly earned not awarded," said Linda Wojcio at the awards ceremony. "They are a reflection of the culture of the hospital, focused on quality and patient safety demonstrated as your hospital's top priorities, and are a reflection of the tireless effort and dedication of the entire team here at Mercy Hospital. This achievement underlines the commitment of everyone at the hospital to deliver outstanding patient outcomes."

Healthgrades evaluates approximately 40 million Medicare records from nearly 4,500 hospitals nationwide. Using a star rating system, the health care research firm identifies hospitals with better than expected (five stars), as expected (three stars), or worse than expected (one star) performance in a number of categories. According to their findings, patients treated at a five-star hospital for a particular procedure have a lower risk of dying or developing an in-hospital complication than if they were treated at a one-star rated hospital for the same procedure.

"This achievement is a testament of the hard work and dedication to excellence by our entire health care team who enable Mercy Hospital to receive this national recognition," said Urlaub. "These awards let our patients and community know that the orthopedic services available at Mercy Hospital are among the best available."
Kenmore Mercy Hospital was also named among America's 100 Best Hospitals for Orthopedic Surgery in 2016. These were the only two hospitals in the Buffalo region to achieve the quality ratings by Healthgrades.