MINNEAPOLIS, February 4, 2008—Minnesota was the only state in which a majority of hospitals were given a "distinguished" ranking by HealthGrades, a health care rating company.

Eleven of 16 major hospitals in Minnesota rated among the top 20 percent nationally in terms of low mortality and rates of complication.

One reason HealthGrades gave for the high ranking is Minnesota's reputation for interhospital cooperation, sharing safety information and learning from mistakes.

How significant are these levels of achievement? HealthGrades estimates that, if every hospital in the country performed as well as the best, 171,424 fewer people would have died in hospitals between 2004 through 2006.

HealthGrades used Medicare data to analyze hospital mortality and complication rates for 27 surgeries and diagnostic categories. Examples included hip replacements, prostate removals and treatment of pneumonia. Only hospitals with data in 20 of these 27 categories were considered, which ruled out most of the nation's smaller hospitals.

Pioneer Press story