By Signal Staff

The Joint Commission, the nonprofit organization that surveys and accredits the nation’s hospitals — including Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital — released a list on Wednesday of top performing hospitals in the United States.

Among the hospitals recognized in Los Angeles County are Providence Holy Cross in Mission Hills, Providence Saint Joseph in Burbank and Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center in Torrance.

While Henry Mayo did not make the list, it does have a gold seal of approval from the Joint Commission.

The 620 hospitals recognized as “Top Performers” represents 18 percent of the total hospitals accredited by the independent organization, which was founded in 1951.

Each recognized hospital met two 95 percent performance thresholds in specific treatment areas, according to the organization. The organization’s level of performance is measured in key functional areas: heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia, surgical care, children’s asthma, hospital-based in-patient psychiatric, stroke and venous thromboembolism.

“That means every patient at these three Providence ministries is being treated according to a set of core measures that have proven to save lives,” said Michael Hunn, senior vice president and chief executive of Providence Health & Services, Southern California. “This sounds simple, but it takes great knowledge, dedication and teamwork by our physicians, nurses and other clinicians, often in situations where seconds count.”

The Joint Commission develops its standards with the help of health care experts, providers, measurement experts, purchasers and consumers. The on-site survey process is data-driven in evaluating actual care processes.

“When we raise the bar and provide the proper guidance and tools, hospitals have responded with excellent results,” said Mark R. Chassin, M.D., president of The Joint Commission. “This capacity for continual improvement points toward a future in which quality and safety defects are dramatically reduced and high reliability is sought and achieved with regularity. Such day-to-day progress will slowly but surely transform today’s healthcare system into one that achieves unprecedented performance outcomes for the benefit of the patients.”

Check the level of quality care at your local hospital at www.qualitycheck.org.

Top Peforming L.A. and Ventura County Hospitals

Hospitals by State    City
Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center    Burbank
Kaiser Foundation Hospital    Downey
Encino Hospital Medical Center    Encino
Kaiser Foundation Hospital - South Bay    Harbor City
Centinela Hospital Medical Center    Inglewood
VA Long Beach Health Care System    Long Beach
Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Los Angeles Medical Center    Los Angeles
Temple Community Hospital    Los Angeles
Providence Health System - Holy Cross    Mission Hills
Kaiser Foundation Hospitals    Panorama City
Saint John's Health    Santa Monica
Los Robles Hospital and Medical Center     Thousand Oaks
Providence Little Company of Mary    Torrance
Kaiser Foundation Hospital    Woodland Hills