BayCare Named Top Quintile Health System for Third Consecutive Year

Clearwater, Fla., (April 27, 2021) – BayCare Health System has once again been recognized by a leading, independent survey for excellence in clinical outcomes, operational efficiency, patient experience, financial health, and contributions to community health with a focus on equity.

The news comes from Fortune/IBM Watson Health®, which lists BayCare in the top 20 percent of large health systems in the country. This is the third year in a row BayCare has been recognized with this honor.

In addition to being recognized as a health system, several BayCare hospitals have been named to the Fortune/IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals list.

• St. Joseph’s Hospitals (including St. Joseph’s Hospital, St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital and St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital in Tampa as well as St. Joseph’s Hospital-North in Lutz and St. Joseph’s Hospital-South in Riverview.)  With a combined total 1,396 beds, St. Joseph’s Hospitals operate under the same license and makes the list as a large community hospital.
• Morton Plant Hospital made the 100 Top Hospitals list as a top teaching hospital.  
• Bartow Regional Medical Center made the list for the first time in the small community hospital category.  

Three others in the BayCare system were ranked in the top 20 percent of the country in their peer groups: Mease Countryside Hospital in Safety Harbor, Mease Dunedin Hospital and South Florida Baptist Hospital in Plant City. 
 
“When I became the CEO of BayCare in 2016, our community board of directors set a goal to be in the top 20 percent of health systems within five years.  Not only did we reach that goal three years early, we also have maintained that ranking for three years in a row,” said BayCare President/CEO Tommy Inzina. “I appreciate the leadership of our board in our pursuit of excellence for our community; and I am proud of the extraordinary care our providers and physicians deliver to all we serve.”
 
IBM Watson Health identifies the top hospitals from a rigorous evaluation of 2,675 short-term, acute care, non-federal hospitals in the U.S. The annual list recognizes excellence in clinical outcomes, operational efficiency, patient experience, and financial health. IBM Watson Health established the list to help identify best practices that may help other healthcare organizations achieve consistent, balanced, and sustainable high performance. 
 
For the first time, this year’s ranking of top hospitals also introduces a measure of hospitals’ contributions to community health with a focus on equity developed by a team of experts at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Equity and the Bloomberg American Health Initiative at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. For the ranking, hospitals were surveyed across three components: 1) assessing hospital contributions to community health as a provider of critical services for community health and preventive care; 2) identifying ways that hospitals contribute to community health as a community partner teaming up with local organizations to implement critical programs; and 3) focusing on ways that hospitals promote community health through their practices as anchor institutions supporting local economic and social progress. Hospitals received credit for meeting a certain number of best practice standards in each component as part of the survey scoring and the new measure led to a change in ranking for more than one-third of the 100 hospitals.  

The hospitals included on the Fortune/IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals list had better results on key clinical and operational performance indicators compared to similar hospitals, according to IBM Watson Health. These include survival rates, patient complications, healthcare associated infections, 30-day mortality and 30-day hospital-wide readmission rates, length of stay, throughput in emergency departments, inpatient expenses, profitability and ratings from patients. 
 
“We are proud of all of the hospitals, health systems and their dedicated clinicians and staff included among the Fortune/IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals,” said Irene Dankwa-Mullan, MD, MPH, Chief Health Equity Officer and Deputy Chief Health officer at IBM Watson Health. “From small community hospitals to major teaching hospitals, organizations on this list demonstrate a relentless commitment to high value, patient-centered care and innovation. They also recognize the importance of contributing to the health of their communities and we applaud them for their programs that help provide equitable quality care and address health disparities.”
 
For more information, visit http://www.100tophospitals.com/. 

About BayCare Health System
BayCare is a leading not-for-profit health care system that connects individuals and families to a wide range of services at 15 hospitals and hundreds of other convenient locations throughout the Tampa Bay and central Florida regions. Inpatient and outpatient services include acute care, primary care, imaging, laboratory, behavioral health, home care, and wellness. Our mission is to improve the health of all we serve through community-owned, health care services that set the standard for high-quality, compassionate care. For more information, visit www.BayCare.org.

About the Fortune/IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals® List
The Fortune/IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals list is determined using independent and objective research to analyze hospital performance. Organizations do not apply or pay for this honor or pay to promote their award.  Award-winning hospitals and health systems serve as a model of excellence for the industry.