Delray Beach, FL - - In a recently released health care industry study, Delray Medical Center was named to the list of the nation's 100 Top Hospitals by achieving excellence in quality of care, efficiency of operations, and sustainability of overall performance.

The study, the ninth 100 Top Hospitals®: National Benchmarks for Success, was conducted by Solucient, an Evanston, Ill.-based health care information company, and is based solely on objective, quantitative performance data that are consistent across all U.S. hospitals. Data is analyzed in groups based on hospital size and teaching status.

"We are extremely proud that Delray Medical Center made Solucient's Top 100 Hospital list. This award recognizes the accomplishments of our stellar team of professionals who, through their unwavering dedication and commitment to excellence, have provided our patients with a high quality of care and attention," says Mitch Feldman, chief executive officer of Delray Medical Center.

As an analysis to identify benchmark hospitals, the study revealed that if all U.S. acute care hospitals were to perform at the level of the 100 Top Hospitals, approximately 57,000 lives could be saved annually and expenses could decline an estimated $9.5 billion.

"Winners of the 100 Top award are hospitals that are committed to constant performance improvement, to bringing better services to their patients, their families and their communities, " said Jean Chenoweth, Solucient's executive director of the 100 Top Hospitals program.

Other findings include:

• The 100 Top Hospitals were found to have more successful outcomes than their peers, providing 18 per cent decrease in medical complications.

The study analyzed the nation's hospitals using empirical performance data from the Medicare MEDPAR aggregated claims database and other publicly available sources.

• Major Teaching - 16 winners
• Teaching - 25 winners
• Large Community, 250 or more beds - 20 winners
• Medium Community, 100 to 249 Beds - 20 winners
• Small Community, 25 to 99 Beds - 20 winners

Eight measures were used to determine performance: risk-adjusted mortality index, risk-adjusted complications index, average length of stay, expense, profitability, proportion of outpatient revenue, total asset turnover, and data quality.

Solucient is the leading source of health care business intelligence. Its mission is to provide comprehensive, results-oriented information to drive business growth, manage costs, and deliver quality care. Solucient's expertise and proven solutions enable providers, payers, employers, and pharmaceutical companies to achieve results and realize value. By bridging the gap between data and information, knowledge and value, Solucient drives intelligent business decisions. For more information, visit the Solucient Web site at www.solucient.com http://www.solucient.com

Tenet's Florida Region also ranked by HealthGrades, a national healthcare quality solutions company, as the top-rated hospital system for cardiac care in Florida and earned a five-star rating, ranking Tenet in the top five percent of hospitals nationwide for cardiac care. In addition to cardiac care, Tenet hospitals have received five-star rankings for neurosciences, pulmonary/respiratory care, vascular surgery, orthopedic surgery and obstetrics. Delray Medical Center, Florida Medical Center, North Ridge Medical Center, Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center and Palmetto General Hospital have earned one or more of these five-star rankings.

Tenet's Florida Region hospitals are Cleveland Clinic Hospital, Coral Gables Hospital, Delray Medical Center, Florida Medical Center, Good Samaritan Medical Center, Hialeah Hospital, Hollywood Medical Center, North Ridge Medical Center, North Shore Medical Center, Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center, Palmetto General Hospital, Parkway Regional Medical Center, Pinecrest Rehabilitation Hospital, Seven Rivers Community Hospital, St. Mary's Medical Center and West Boca Medical Center. Tenet's Florida Region can be found on the World Wide Web at: www.tenetsouthflorida.com.

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