For the fourth year in a row, Merative (formerly IBM Watson Health) ranked Edward-Elmhurst Health among the 15 Top Health Systems in the nation, recognition based on publicly available clinical, operational and patient satisfaction metrics and data.

The organization, partnered with Fortune Magazine, also ranked Elmhurst Hospital among the 100 Top Hospitals in the country.

Who is Merative, and what data did it use to make its decision?

More importantly, what should these honors mean to you?

First, Merative is a data, analytics and technology partner for the health industry.

As part of its data analysis, Merative conducts three major studies of hospitals and health systems each year: 100 Top Hospitals, 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals and 15 Top Health Systems.

Merative pulls information from public data sources (such as Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Hospital Compare) and uses it to evaluate hospital and health system performance.

The public data they analyze includes categories such as how safe the hospital is, how long patients wait in the ER for care, how long patients stay in the hospital, and overall patient experience, among others.

15 Top Health Systems

The 15 Top Health Systems are the top-performing health systems in the country, based on the data and patient ratings. This year, Merative evaluated 349 health systems and more than 3,200 hospitals. From that evaluation, they chose the top 15.

The 15 Top Health Systems:

• Had fewer people die in the hospital and had fewer patient health complications
• Had fewer people contract infections while they were hospitalized
• Had fewer people readmitted to the hospital in the 30 days after they were discharged
• Sent patients home sooner
• Provided faster emergency care
• Scored higher on patient ratings of their overall hospital experience

100 Top Hospitals

To select this year’s 100 Top Hospitals®, Merative rigorously evaluated 2,650 short-term, acute care, non-federal hospitals in the U.S., using multiple public data sources. The list was established to help identify best practices that may help other healthcare organizations achieve consistent, balanced and sustainable high performance.

The 100 Top Hospitals:

• Had fewer patient complications
• Had fewer patients contract infections in the hospital
• Had lower 30-day mortality rates and 30-day hospital-wide readmission rates
• Sent patients home sooner
• Received higher ratings from patients

The 100 Top Hospitals study has been conducted annually since 1993. Edward Hospital was previously recognized as a 100 Top Hospital in 2011, 2016 2018 and 2020. This is the third time Elmhurst Hospital has been honored (2020, 2021).

Edward-Elmhurst Health has been working hard to provide the best care and the safest, most seamless, personalized experience for our patients. We’re proud to say our hard work has been recognized and is paying off — for you.