Survive pneumonia? Depends which hospital you choose.
The third report since 2004 on how California hospitals treat pneumonia confirmed that where patients go can mean the difference between living and dying.
Patients at the worst- performing hospitals were twice as likely to die as those at the best-ranked hospitals.
Los Angeles County is in better shape than most, with 20 of 92 hospitals surveyed that rated "better than expected" and four that rated "worse than expected."
The report, released this week by the Office of Statewide Health, Planning and Development, looked at 30-day mortality rates for community- acquired pneumonia between January 2003 and November 2005. "Community-acquired" means that the bacteria, viruses, fungus or other organisms that cause pneumonia were contracted at home or at work as opposed to more deadly, drug-resistant strains acquired in nursing homes, jails and other institutional settings, including hospitals themselves.
The findings
* The statewide mortality rate was 12.2%, or about one of every eight patients admitted with pneumonia. This was virtually unchanged from the earlier reports, which covered 2002-04 and 1999-2001.
* In the newest report, 48 hospitals in the state were rated "better than expected," with an average death rate of 8.2%, and 47 hospitals rated "worse than expected," with an average death rate of 16.7%, double that of the better hospitals. More hospitals qualified for both categories than in the two previous reports because the state made a change in its formula for adjusting risk, or accounting for the severity of illnesses by age and other conditions.
* No hospitals went from "better" to "worse," or vice versa.
* Los Angeles County hospitals rated "better than expected" in all three reports include Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, East Los Angeles Doctor's Hospital, Garfield Medical Center, Monterey Park Hospital, St. John's Hospital and Health Center and White Memorial Medical Center.
* No Los Angeles County hospitals rated "worse than expected" in all three reports. In the newest report, Coast Plaza Doctors Hospital, Kaiser Foundation Hospital- Panorama City, Pacifica Hospital of the Valley and Torrance Memorial Medical Center rated "worse than expected."
The goal
