According to the Tenth Annual HealthGrades Hospital Quality in America Study, Houston Northwest Medical Center was recognized for quality back and neck surgery. The study, the largest of its kind, analyzed patient outcomes at virtually all of the nation's 5,000 hospitals over the years 2004, 2005 and 2006.  

HealthGrades ranked Houston Northwest Medical Center with a Five-Star ranking for back and neck surgery.

“Houston Northwest Medical Center is focused on delivering quality care for our patients. We take great pride in obtaining multiple awards from HealthGrades based on medical outcomes,” said Drew Kahn, chief executive officer at Houston Northwest Medical Center. “At Houston Northwest Medical Center, our top priorities are patient safety and clinical quality. Recognition for our quality care is a credit to the outstanding efforts of our physicians, nurses and staff,” added Kahn.  

The Tenth Annual HealthGrades Hospital Quality in America Study identifies key trends in the quality of care provided by approximately 5,000 hospitals nationwide. HealthGrades researchers analyzed Medicare discharges from virtually every U.S. hospital between 2004 and 2006. Risk-adjusted mortality and complication rates were calculated and hospitals were assigned a 1-star (poor), 3-star (as expected), or 5-star (best) quality rating for 28 diagnoses and procedures from heart failure to hip replacement to pneumonia.  

The 2008 HealthGrades ratings for all hospitals nationwide are available, free of charge, on the organization’s award-winning consumer Web site, located at www.healthgrades.com.  More than three million individuals and employees of some of the nation’s largest employers and health plans visit HealthGrades each month to access quality information about hospitals, nursing homes and physicians. HealthGrades also provides consumers and payers with detailed assessments of hospitals’ patient-safety outcomes, based on indicators developed by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.