Brooklyn Hospitals Fare Abysmally in Disputed Federal Rankings

 

By Mary Frost 

New York State’s hospitals as a whole ranked last among the 50 states, according to a report card from the federal government. Shockingly, New York City’s hospitals were rated even lower than the state average – and Brooklyn’s hospitals scored lower than the city as a whole.

In July, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released new ratings for roughly 3,600 hospitals across the country, assigning from one to five stars to each based on 64 quality measures.

The ratings are meant to provide consumers with a “snapshot” of local hospitals. They are based on data such as how often complications occur, the timeliness of care, the number of readmissions and deaths, and patients’ ranking of their experiences in the hospital.

According to an analysis of the federal database by the Empire Center for Public Policy, a non-profit think tank based in Albany, New York State’s average score was 2.26 stars, the lowest of any state. New York City’s 38 rated hospitals averaged 1.68 stars. (Some specialty institutions and VA hospitals were not rated.)

New York State ranked low despite having one of the most expensive health care systems in the U.S. 

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Source: The Brooklyn Eagle