Only Hospital In Florida To Receive Designation Four Years In Succession

March 10, 2005 –Delray Medial Center has been named, for four consecutive years (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004), one of the nation’s 100 Top Hospitals® by Solucient, a leading source of healthcare business intelligence.  Delray Medical Center is the only hospital in the state of Florida to make Solucient’s 100 Top Hospitals® list four years in a row. The hospital is listed as one of the Best of the 100 Top Benchmark Hospitals nationally.

The award from Solucient recognizes hospitals that have achieved excellence in quality of care, operational efficiency, patient safety, financial performance and quick response to the needs of the community.  The 12th edition of Solucient’s 100 Top Hospitals: National Benchmarks for Success study appears in a special supplement to the February 28 issue of Modern Healthcare magazine.

Further, Delray Medical Center is a three-time recipient of the Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence by HealthGrades, a leading national healthcare quality group.  For 2005, the hospital is rated among the top five percent of all hospitals in the nation based on clinical quality outcomes and performance, which includes a five star rating in a number of services such as cardiac, pulmonary, stroke and gastroenterology.

“Our physicians, nurses and staff are dedicated to saving and improving the lives of the residents who live in this community,” said Mitch Feldman, Delray Medical Center CEO.  “As an objective third party, Solucient has found, for four consecutive years, that we are not only achieving our goals, but performing in elite company nationwide.  I am very pleased with this year’s recognition by Solucient and HealthGrades and this is shared by everyone affiliated with Delray Medical Center.”

The 12th edition of the Solucient 100 Top Hospitals®: National Benchmarks for Success study analyzed acute care hospitals nationwide using detailed empirical performance data from 2003, including publicly available MedPAR data and Medicare cost reports.  The study scored facilities according to key measures: risk-adjusted mortality, complications, patient safety index, average length of stay, expenses, profitability, cash flow to total debt ratio, and growth in percent of community served.

“The new benchmark hospitals have set the bar much higher for patient outcomes, patient operational performance and improved value for the community,” noted Jean Chenoweth, senior vice president of Solucient’s Center for Healthcare Improvement and the 100 Top Hospitals® program. “To achieve these new benchmarks, the whole organization, not just one clinical service line – must be aligned to achieve performance improvement goals.” More information on this study and other 100 Top Hospitals® research is available at www.100tophospitals.com.

About Delray Medical Center

Delray Medical Center is a 372-bed acute care hospital, located in Delray Beach, FL.  In addition to the well-known Heart Center, Delray Medical Center is a state-designated Level II Trauma Center for adults and children, and offers a vast array of additional inpatient and outpatient medical and surgical care.  Some of those services include orthopedics, neuroscience, surgical weight reduction, psychiatric, wound treatment and sleep disorders programs.  For more information, visit www.delraymedicalctr.com.