Bradford Regional Medical Center continues on a positive course
in health care, bucking a statewide trend which saw a significant
hike in readmission rates last year.

According to a Hospital Performance Report issued by the
Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council, the hospital
experienced normal readmission rates for its patients being treated
for various ailments ranging from abnormal heartbeat to
hysterectomies.

The hospital also recorded normal mortality rates, the report
indicated.

Elsewhere, the region’s four other hospitals also had similar
findings, with Elk Regional Health Center in St. Marys scoring
“significantly lower than expected” in regards to the length of
stay for several procedures. However, Charles Cole Memorial
Hospital in Coudersport had a higher than normal mortality rate for
medical management of heart attacks, pneumonia-aspiration and
non-hemorrhagic stroke.

Similar to Bradford, Kane Community Hospital also fell within
the normal bracket in most of the report, which compares hospitals
throughout the state on various medical procedures.

“This is a good news/bad news report given the decline in
patient mortality and increase in readmissions,” Executive Director
Marc Volavka said. “Reducing infections, especially
hospital-acquired infections, and other complications can
contribute significantly to improving outcomes for patients and
constraining health care costs.”

According to the report, the overall patient mortality rate for
hospitals statewide fell from 4.6 percent in 2003 to 4.5 percent in
2005 – declining significantly in 10 of the 26 treatment categories
for which three years of data was available.

The largest decline was in hemorrhagic stroke, which dropped
from 33.5 percent to 30.1 percent last year. The largest
readmission rate was also in that category, increasing from 16
percent to 18.7 percent.

Bradford Regional only had one “higher than normal” readmission
rate, for diabetic patients with amputations. All told, there were
22 cases reported, according to the documentation, with a length of
stay of just under 10 days.

Hospital officials said a number of factors can contribute to
the findings.

In a review of the cases, BRMC Senior Vice President of Patient
Care Services Deborah Price said patients with that diagnosis can
have other serious health problems which contribute to being
readmitted to the hospital.

Price said hospital officials are already developing strategies
to “positively impact” those issues, including meetings with its
home health department – the McKean County Visiting Nurse
Association and Hospice – to develop ways to decrease the number of
readmissions through more consistent home care visits.

“Our effort at the medical center is always focused on
developing ways to keep patients healthier and to help them manage
their own care in the settings they choose for optimum outcome,”
Price said.

According to the report, Bradford Regional also had a
significantly lower than expected long length of stay for abnormal
heartbeat, readmission rate for complication from an infection for
pneumonia and readmission rate for surgically repaired hip
fractures.

Meanwhile, in addition to the high mortality rates in three
categories, Charles Cole also had a lower than expected short
length of stay for infectious pneumonia and a higher than normal
readmission rating for non-hemorrhagic stroke; all other categories
fell in the normal range.

Elk Regional had a significantly lower than expected long length
of stay for congestive heart failure, readmission rate for kidney
and urinary tract infections and long length of stay for infectious
pneumonia; all other categories were normal.

At Kane Community Hospital, patients had a significantly lower
than expected long length of stay for congestive heart failure and
mortality rate for septicemia. All other categories came in
normal.

Lastly, Warren General Hospital had lower than expected long
length of stay for abnormal heartbeat, significantly higher than
normal mortality rate for kidney failure, lower than expected
readmission rate for non-hemorrhagic stroke and a lower than
expected short length of stay for an abdominal hysterectomy.