ST. JOSEPH — Lakeland Health announced today that it has received five stars for the quality outcomes of its total knee replacement surgery from Healthgrades, the leading online resource helping consumers make informed decisions in order to find the right doctor, the right hospital, and the right care.

Every year, Healthgrades evaluates hospital performance at nearly 4,500 hospitals nationwide for 33 of the most common inpatient procedures and conditions.

This achievement is part of new findings and data released on Healthgrades.com and in the Healthgrades 2016 Report to the Nation. The new report demonstrates how clinical performance continues to differ dramatically between hospitals both nationally and regionally which proves to have a significant impact on health outcomes. A five-star rating indicates that clinical outcomes at Lakeland Health are statistically significantly better in regards to total knee replacement surgery.

“Total joint replacements are tremendous operations that have a significant impact on a patient’s quality of life,” said Kenneth Edwards, MD, medical director of Surgical Services, Lakeland Health. “The future of health care holds a large number of patients who will be candidates for this type of surgery and it’s vital that we continue to deliver high quality care, while at the same time ensuring patient-reported outcomes are superior and we’re providing cost effective options for our patients.”

According to findings from 2012-2014, patients undergoing total knee replacement surgery in hospitals with a five-star rating have, on average, a 64.9% lower risk of experiencing a complication while in the hospital than if they were treated by hospitals with one star.* Additionally, if all hospitals performed similarly to those receiving five stars, an average of 222,392 lives could potentially have been saved and 166,086 complications could potentially have been avoided.*

“The Healthgrades 2016 Report to the Nation reveals striking disparities in quality at the local level, and confirms why it is so important for consumers to understand the clinical outcomes for specific conditions and procedures,” said Evan Marks, chief strategy officer for Healthgrades. “Those hospitals that have achieved the Healthgrades distinction have demonstrated a commitment to exceptional quality care.”

*Statistics are based on Healthgrades analysis of MedPAR data for years 2012 through 2014 and represent 3-year estimates for Medicare patients only.