While mortality and readmission rates sank significantly in hospitals across the state, new data shows Northeast Pennsylvania hospitals mostly preserved the status quo.
Data released Thursday by the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council, or PHC4, shows declining mortality rates for 11 out of 16 conditions and estimates 5,632 lives were saved in 2018.
Statewide rates for readmission, when a patient returns to the hospital for the same condition, fell for 12 out of 17 conditions studied, which the agency suggests means nearly 4,000 readmissions were avoided last year.
Researchers compared 2018 mortality and readmissions with 2013 figures.
“Once again, this report shows statewide declines in mortality and readmission rates for a number of common treatment areas,” PHC4 Executive Director Joe Martin said in a written statement. “Especially encouraging are the decreases in conditions that, traditionally, had higher mortality rates such as respiratory failure and sepsis.”
The Times-Tribune analyzed hospital-specific data for 11 Northeast Pennsylvania hospitals, which generally reported mortality rates in step with the PHC4’s expectations — few were significantly higher or lower.
Regional Hospital of Scranton, a Commonwealth Health hospital, reported higher than expected figures in three categories, more than any other area hospital.
Regional had higher-than-expected mortality for heart attack and sepsis patients. Seven out of 173 heart attack patients, specifically those who were treated with a stent or angioplasty, died. The hospital notably had the highest number of patients overall for that procedure out of the 11 area hospitals.
Regional also reported higher readmission rates than expected for diabetes cases.
Those numbers, however, don’t tell the whole story, nor do they show the progress the health system has made in improving key measures, a spokeswoman said.
Regional improved mortality rates over the year for a number of conditions including abnormal heart beat, colorectal procedures and heart failure. The hospital also improved mortality rates for kidney failure, respiratory failure and pneumonia.
“Continual work is being done to strengthen the quality of care we provide through the expertise and commitment of our skilled medical staff and dedicated employees,” spokeswoman Annmarie Poslock said in an email. “Our efforts to reduce mortality and readmission rates are ongoing.”
Wilkes-Barre General, a Commonwealth Health hospital, was within expected mortality rates for all categories, she noted, improving on conditions of sepsis, kidney failure and abnormal heartbeat from the previous year.
Commonwealth’s other Scranton hospital, Moses Taylor, also reported lower-than-expected readmission rates for respiratory failure. They also improved on mortality rates for colorectal procedures and stroke care, bringing them to as-expected levels.
When it comes to readmissions, heart failure tripped up the most hospitals, with Barnes-Kasson County Hospital in Susquehanna Depot, Moses Taylor Hospital in Scranton and Wilkes-Barre General Hospital reporting more readmissions than expected for that condition.
Some hospitals aligned with state trends and reported mortality and readmission rates lower than expected.
At Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center, 11 out of 808 heart failure patients died. The PHC4 had expected between twice that many for the Plains Twp. hospital.
With three readmissions for kidney and urinary tract conditions, Wayne Memorial Hospital had five fewer than expected.
Wayne Memorial also reported six fewer deaths from patients in respiratory failure than expected.
Geisinger Wyoming Valley had some of the best numbers with lower-than-expected mortality rates among heart failure patients, and fewer readmissions for heart attack and heart failure patients.
Geisinger Community Medical Center in Scranton scored well for only four readmissions among heart attack patients compared to the 11 that PHC4 expected.
“Constantly improving patient care across all conditions and services is a top priority at Geisinger,” the health system’s northeast chief administrative officer Ron Beer said in a statement. “The categories detailed in the PHC4 report reflect some of our region’s most common medical conditions, and focus on those conditions intensifies as we work to provide better care to people in our community.”
Contact the writer: joconnell@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9131; @jon_oc on Twitter