Rochester, N.Y.— Strong Memorial Hospital may be the most recognizable and largest local hospital, but if you read Consumer Reports’ new safety rankings, it is not among the best. Strong and Highland Hospital received scores of 34 out of a possible 100 in a story published online and in the magazine’s August issue.
“There are three hospitals- Highland Hospital, Strong Memorial (University of Rochester) and Nicholas Noyes that get scores well below average,” said John Santa, M.D. Director of Consumer Reports Health Ratings Center.
The report focuses on six categories including infections, readmissions, CT scanning, communication (with patients), complications and mortality.
“This particular scorecard is a bit unusual in that it doesn’t have data for most of the hospitals in the United States and classifies some hospitals that we know are superb hospitals with low scores. An example is New York Presbyterian Hospital in New York City, one of the best hospitals in the world, got a lower rating then Strong Memorial did,” said Bob Panzer, M.D., Chief Quality Officer for Strong.
Thompson Hospital of Canandaigua received a rating of “50,” the best among Rochester-area hospitals. Rochester General was not ranked in the report. Cayuga Medical Center at Ithaca had the highest ratings in the state according to Consumer Reports.
Panzer questions the rankings, but said Strong is working on improving communication with patients and reducing the number of scans that expose patients to radiation.
Panzer and a spokesperson for Highland Hospital said federal and state websites tracking quality of care are the ones they respect most.
Government data, independent sources, and information from medical professionals were used to create the rankings according to Consumer Reports.
“From our perspective, the CDC website seems to be the one that is the most reliable at this point,” said Nancy Adams, Executive Director of the Monroe County Medical Society.
