Nine metro Atlanta hospitals receive excellence awards for specialty care

More than 224,000 — that’s how many lives Healthgrades believes could have been saved if more U.S. hospitals operated at its five-star standard. So the company has lauded specialty care leaders for providing the best treatment.

From Northside to Piedmont, nine Atlanta-area hospitals received a Specialty Excellence Award, which honors outstanding performance in 16 areas, including cardiac surgery, critical care and stroke care.

“Our specialty awards highlight top-performing hospitals across medical specialties, empowering consumers to find high quality care for their unique needs,” Dr. Brad Bowman, Healthgrades’ chief medical officer and head of data science, said in a news release. “Doing your research ahead of time and understanding where you can find high quality care can positively impact your healthcare journey and overall experience.”

To determine the top performers, Healthgrades scored hospitals for individual areas of treatment, including coronary intervention and orthopedic surgery. The top ranking 10% of more than 4,500 hospitals were recognized as award winners.

This year’s Atlanta-area winners are:

• Emory Johns Creek Hospital: America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Stroke Care Award, Critical Care Excellence Award, Gastrointestinal Care Excellence Award, Neurosciences Excellence Award and Pulmonary Care Excellence Award
• Emory Saint Joseph’s Hospital: America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Pulmonary Care Award, America’s 50 Best Hospitals for Outpatient Joint Replacement Award, Outpatient Orthopedic Surgery Excellence Award and Stroke Care Excellence Award
• Emory University Hospital: America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Care Award, America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Stroke Care Award, Cranial Neurosurgery Excellence Award, Neurosciences Excellence Award, America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Gastrointestinal Care Award and America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Gastrointestinal Surgery Award
• Emory University Hospital Midtown: America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Care Award, Cranial Neurosurgery Excellence Award, Pulmonary Care Excellence Award and the Stroke Care Excellence Award

• Northside Hospital: America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Spine Surgery Award
• Northside Hospital Gwinnett: America’s 50 Best Hospitals for Outpatient Prostate Care Award
• Piedmont Fayette Hospital: America’s 50 Best Hospitals for Outpatient Prostate Care Award
• Piedmont Hospital: America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Care Award, America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Coronary Intervention Award, America’s 50 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Surgery Award, Cranial Neurosurgery Excellence Award, Stroke Care Excellence Award and Surgical Care Excellence Award
• Wellstar Paulding Medical Center: Pulmonary Care Excellence Award