Consumer Reports: NUMC Among Lowest Rated NY Hospitals

Consumer Reports released results from an investigation on hospital rankings across the country and received among the five worst overall patient-safety scores.

These scores were based on four measures: hospital-acquired infections, readmissions, and how well hospital staff communicate with patients about medications and discharge planning.

According to the report, NUMC received 63 percent worse than average.

John Santa, M.D., director of the Consumer Reports Health Ratings Center, acknowledged that the patient-safety ratings don’t tell consumers everything they need to know about a hospital.

“But a low score, especially in multiple measures, is enough to raise a red flag,” he said.

Shelley Lotenberg, a spokeswoman for NUMC told Patch that quality care and patient safety is their number one priority, however noted that continuous improvement is a never-ending for all staff members.

"The data reflects that NY metropolitan area hospitals have unique challenges, and that the analysis may not take into account these issues. That having been said, the Nassau University Medical Center takes responsibility to deliver the highest quality care to all our patients. The overall data indicates significant improvement over the past few years, which culminated in our being awarded the Nassau Suffolk Hospital Council 2011 Excellence in Patient Safety Award for our work in minimizing central line infections."

"We are deeply committed to patient safety and quality improvement," she added.

Of the 50 lowest-scoring such hospitals nationwide, 30 are in the New York City area.