News
St. Luke's University Health Network has won IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospital awards for the eighth time.
St. Luke’s University Hospital (Bethlehem and Allentown campuses) have been named one of the nation’s 100 Top Hospitals in the Major Teaching Hospital category by IBM Watson Health for the sixth year in a row and the eighth time overall. Additionally, for the second time, St. Luke’s Anderson Campus was named a 100 Top Hospital (one of 20 in the Medium Community Hospital category).
IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals is one of the health industry’s most prestigious honors. Unlike many other health care awards, it is based entirely on an independent, scientific review of objective data from government and other publicly available sources.
St. Luke’s University Hospital in Bethlehem is proud to be the only hospital in the region to ever have been named one of the nation’s 100 Top Hospitals in the Major Teaching Hospital category.
Not only are St. Luke’s hospitals the only ones in the region to have earned the 100 Top Hospitals designation, they are the only ones to have done so in Pennsylvania in 2020 in their respective categories.
“The IBM Watson 100 Top Hospitals national award recognizes St. Luke’s University Health Network’s ability to provide the highest level of quality care at a lower cost than any hospital network in our region. This recognition is especially significant at this time as our community contends with the COVID-19 epidemic,” Rick Anderson, St. Luke’s President and CEO, said. “This award focuses on clinical outcomes, efficiencies of care and, importantly, financial performance and is a credit to the entire St. Luke’s family. I cannot thank our outstanding physicians, nurses, other staff and leadership team enough for their dedication and commitment to outstanding quality patient care.”
If other Lehigh Valley hospitals were able to match St. Luke’s “100 Top Hospital” performance, Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton and surrounding communities would enjoy not only improved health outcomes but also lower health care costs, according to IBM Watson Health.
“Hospitals, health systems and the dedicated clinicians and staff who work at these organizations have emerged as true heroes of the COVID-19 pandemic and we are grateful to be able to recognize these extraordinary leaders at this time,” said Kyu Rhee, M.D., M.P.P., Vice President and Chief Health Officer, IBM Watson Health. “From small community hospitals to major teaching hospitals, organizations on this list demonstrate a relentless commitment to high value, patient-centered care and innovation. It is clear that the COVID-19 crisis will be a catalyst for reinvention, and we believe these top performing hospitals are positioned to emerge stronger and smarter out of this crisis.”
IBM Watson Health, formerly known as Truven Health Analytics, uses independent and objective research to analyze hospital and health system performance in 11 areas, addressing: inpatient mortality; 30-day mortality rate; complications; core measures; 30-day risk-adjusted readmission rate; severity-adjusted average length of stay; mean emergency room throughput; inpatient expense per discharge; Medicare spend per beneficiary; adjusted operating profit margin; and Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) score (patient rating of overall hospital performance). The study has been conducted annually since 1993.
For more information, visit www.100tophospitals.com.
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Media Contact:
Sam Kennedy, Corporate Communications Director, 484-526-4134, samuel.kennedy@sluhn.org
About IBM Watson Health
IBM Watson Health is a data, analytics, and technology partner for the health industry. Supported by the innovation of IBM and intelligence of Watson, we are committed to helping build smarter health ecosystems. Through the combination of our deep industry expertise in health, data and analytics, actionable insights, and reputation for security and trust, Watson Health is working together with its clients and partners to help them achieve simpler processes, better care insights, faster breakthroughs, and improved experiences for people around the world. Learn more at www.ibm.com/watson/health.
About St. Luke’s
Founded in 1872, St. Luke's University Health Network (SLUHN) is a fully integrated, regional, non-profit network of more than 15,000 employees providing services at 11 hospitals and 300 outpatient sites. With annual net revenue greater than $2 billion, the Network’s service area includes 11 counties: Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe, Schuylkill and Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey. Dedicated to advancing medical education, St. Luke's is the preeminent teaching hospital in central-eastern Pennsylvania. In partnership with Temple University, St. Luke's created the Lehigh Valley's first and only regional medical school campus. It also operates the nation’s longest continuously operating School of Nursing, established in 1884, and 34 fully accredited graduate medical educational programs with 263 residents and fellows. St. Luke's is the only Lehigh Valley-based health care system with Medicare’s five- and four-star ratings (the highest) for quality, efficiency and patient satisfaction. St. Luke’s is both a Leapfrog Group and Healthgrades Top Hospital and a Newsweek World’s Best Hospital. In 2019, three of IBM Watson Health's 100 Top Hospitals were St. Luke's hospitals. St. Luke's University Hospital has earned the 100 Top Major Teaching Hospital designation from IBM Watson Health seven times total and five years in a row. St. Luke's has also been cited by IBM Watson Health as a 50 Top Cardiovascular Program. Utilizing the Epic electronic medical record (EMR) system for both inpatient and outpatient services, the Network is a multi-year recipient of the Most Wired award recognizing the breadth of the SLUHN's information technology applications such as telehealth, online scheduling and online pricing information. St. Luke's is also recognized as one of the state's lowest cost providers.
