PORT ANGELES — A personal-finance website has ranked Olympic Medical Center as the most affordable hospital in the state.
The website, www.NerdWallet.com, analyzed common treatments at 47 Washington hospitals and published its findings this month.
It used 2011 data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to compile the list, asking which hospitals offered the highest number of affordable treatments, what those treatments were and how satisfied patients were with their hospital.
“The ranking was really based on the number of most affordable treatments,” said Napala Pratini, an analyst with San Francisco-based NerdWallet Health.
“Once we figured out which hospitals had the most affordable treatments, we pointed out common ones. Patient satisfaction was an added bonus.”
She added:
“I think it’s exciting to have a local hospital featured for something like affordability.”
Rounding out the top five in the hospital affordability rankings:
Central Washington Hospital in Wenatchee, Island Hospital in Anacortes, Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital and Grays Harbor Community Hospital in Aberdeen.
Forks, Jefferson not ranked
Jefferson Healthcare, Forks Community Hospital and other critical-access hospitals were not part of the study because of a lack of comparable data.
Critical-access hospitals are those with 25 beds or fewer.
Here’s what NerdWallet Health had to say about OMC:
“Complete with a Level 3 trauma center, emergency services and a state-of-the-art surgical suite, this 80-bed hospital serves more than 70,000 residents of Clallam County.
“A rural public hospital, Olympic Medical Center is owned by the community it serves and is dedicated to providing excellent care and offering the best of modern medicine, which is shown in its 70 percent patient satisfaction rate.
“Not only is Olympic Medical accredited by the Joint Commission for providing high standards of health care, but it also provides affordable treatments for seizure, congestive heart failure and fainting.”
Said OMC Chief Executive Officer Eric Lewis:
“Olympic Medical Center is here to serve our community, and we strive to maintain affordable rates for our constituents while providing high-quality and state-of-the-art care.
“In doing so, we have found our rates — coupled with the excellent care we provide — are very competitive compared to other hospitals throughout the state and the country.”
NerdWallet Health built a “best hospitals” tool to help patients investigate the cost of care in their location. It provides a simple interface to help consumers navigate copious amounts of health care data.
To access the tool, visit www.NerdWallet.com and click on “Best Hospitals” under “Health.”
NerdWallet Health had ranked the affordability of hospitals in 13 other states and plans to cover all 50, Pratini said.
_________
Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
