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Suburban Community Hospital Receives “A” Grade on the Lown Institute Hospitals Index for Social Responsibility
East Norriton, PA (April 1, 2023) – Suburban Community Hospital recently earned recognition from the Lown Institute as one of the most socially responsible hospitals in America.
In the Lown Hospital Index, a report by the Institute that evaluates more than 3,600 hospitals across the nation, earning Suburban Community Hospital an “A” grades in social responsibility, value of care, patient outcomes, clinical outcomes, patient safety, pay equity, avoiding overuse, and cost efficiency, within the following measures that determine overall social responsibility:
Health equity – commitment to inclusivity, pay equity, and community investment
Value of care – how efficiently hospital delivers care and avoids low-value services
Outcomes – success at clinical outcomes, patient safety, and patient satisfaction
Overuse- the delivery of a health care service that is more likely to harm than benefit the patient
“America needs socially responsible hospitals,” said Vikas Saini, MD, president, the Lown Institute. “That’s why it’s so important to lift up these high-performing hospitals as examples for others to follow.”
The Lown Institute’s Index for Social Responsibility is the first ranking to measure the social responsibility nationwide. It applies never-before-used metrics such as racial inclusivity, avoidance of overuse, and community benefit.
Suburban Community Hospital has been a leader in providing high-quality, equitable care to the people of Montgomery County for more than 75 years,” said Jim Hazlett, CNO, Suburban Community Hospital. “This ranking by the Lown Institute validates the hard work of our staff and reaffirms our commitment to the community.”
Hazlett, added, “I am incredibly proud of what this designation means for our hospital, as our mission is to bring health care directly to those in our community who need it most.”
The Lown Hospitals Index for Social Responsibility utilizes more than 50 metrics to assess how well hospitals succeed at being care providers, employers, and community partners. Data sources include Medicare claims, CMS patient safety data and hospital cost reports, and IRS 990 forms, among others.
Founded in 1973 by Nobel Peace Prize winner Bernard Lown, MD, developer of the defibrillator and cardioverter, the Lown Institute believes that a radically better system of health is possible and generates bold ideas towards that goal. The Lown Hospitals Index, a signature project of the Institute, is the first ranking to assess the social responsibility of U.S. hospitals by applying measures never used before like racial inclusivity, avoidance of overuse, and pay equity.
National Social Responsibility Grade: A
National Value of Care Grade: A
Patient Outcomes Grade: A
Clinical Outcomes Grade: A
Patient Safety Grade: A
Pay Equity Grade: A
Avoiding Overuse Grade: A
Top 100 in the Nation for Inclusivity
Cost Efficiency Grade: A
Learn more about the Lown Hospital Index for Social Responsibility by visiting www.LownHospitalsIndex.org.
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About Suburban Community Hospital: Suburban Community Hospital is a not-for-profit, acute care hospital, and a member of the Prime Healthcare Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity. For over 65 years, Suburban Community Hospital has been delivering quality healthcare to Montgomery County and the surrounding region. Suburban Community Hospital, originally named Riverview Hospital, opened in 1944. Chartered at 740 Sandy Street in Norristown, PA, Riverview Osteopathic Hospital would provide medical and surgical services to the sick, afflicted, and injured, and would educate persons in the care and nursing. As part of Prime Healthcare Services, headquartered in Ontario, California, Suburban Community Hospital is focused on becoming one of the leaders in technology.
Prime Healthcare is an award-winning hospital management company operating 45 acute care hospitals in 14 states, including Roxborough Memorial Hospital in Philadelphia, Lower Bucks Hospital in Bucks County, and Suburban Community Hospital in Montgomery County.
About Prime Healthcare and Prime Healthcare Foundation: Prime Healthcare is an award-winning health system operating 45 hospitals and more than 300 outpatient locations in 14 states, providing over 2.6 million patient visits annually. It is one of the nation’s leading health systems with nearly 50,000 employees and physicians dedicated to providing the highest quality healthcare. Fourteen of the Prime Healthcare hospitals are members of the Prime Healthcare Foundation, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit public charity. Based in Ontario, California, Prime Healthcare is nationally recognized for award-winning quality care and has been named a Top 10 and Top 15 Health System by IBM Watson Health. Its hospitals have been named among the nation’s “100 Top Hospitals” 58 times and have received more Patient Safety Excellence Awards from Healthgrades than any other health system in the past six years. To learn more, please visit www.primehealthcare.com
About the Lown Institute and its methodology: Founded in 1973 by Nobel Peace Prize winner Bernard Lown, MD, developer of the defibrillator and cardioverter, the Lown Institute believes that a radically better system of health is possible and generates bold ideas towards that goal. The Lown Hospitals Index, a signature project of the Institute, is the first ranking to assess the social responsibility of U.S. hospitals by applying measures never used before like racial inclusivity, avoidance of overuse, and pay equity.
The Lown Institute Hospitals Index evaluated 3,709 general acute hospitals in the U.S. Information on hospital characteristics was taken from the Fiscal Year 2018 American Hospital Association (AHA) annual survey and Medicare Impact File as well as the CMS Hospital Compare database.
Non-acute care hospitals, federal hospitals (e.g. Veterans Health Administration) and those outside of the 50 states and Washington, D.C. were excluded, as were hospitals run by Medicare Advantage programs (e.g. Kaiser Permanente), and specialty hospitals with more than 45% admissions for orthopedic, cardiac, or surgical procedures. Hospitals that were closed as of October 2020 by checking against Hospital Compare, a website run by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), were eliminated. Hospitals with patient volume below 50 annual patient stays were also eliminated as well as hospitals that did not perform any surgery in each of the three years spanning 2016 to 2018. This left a list of 3,709 hospitals: 568 for-profits, 2,405 private nonprofits, and 736 public nonprofits.
The Lown Institute Hospitals Index has 54 metrics distributed across four tiers. Additional ranking information, including an explanation of methods, is available at LownHospitalsIndex.org.