Good Medicine: Hamilton Montana Hospital Rated as Best
It's always good news to be rated in the top ten - especially if it deals with health care. Bitterroot Health - Daly Hospital has done that. In fact, it is ranked #1 Critical Access Hospital in Montana by the Lown Institutes Hospital Index.
Even nationally, the news is great. Bitterroot Health is ranked #4 among 3,000 hospitals. The Lown Index considers a wide range of factors in their index - including equity, value and outcomes. As Bitterroot Health CEO John Bishop said in a news release, "The Lown Institutes rankings represent a holistic view of our responsibility of providing high quality, high value care to everyone in our valley."
The index highly rated the hospital's patient safety statistics and patient satisfaction. They also noted local contributions by the staff, such as volunteerism, donations and community investment. And in the financial side of things, Lown noted the hospital's cost-efficient care while avoiding low-value services.
The Hamilton hospital has 25 acute care beds and over 60 medical providers. Bitterroot Health has a valley-wide presence with over 700 caregivers. That includes surgical specialties, medical clinics and outpatient care, with new clinics being developed in Darby and Stevensville.
Bitterroot Health Board Chair Lois Hedg-peth said in this week's news release, "The attributes from the Lown index are exactly what Margaret Daly envisioned when she built our hospital nearly 100 years ago."
Hamilton's first hospital was on South 2nd Street. Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital was built on South 4th Street. That building is now the Ravalli County Administrative Center. Bitterroot Health - Daly Hospital's main complex and Emergency department is on the west edge of Hamilton at 1200 Westwood Drive. They also have an informative website.
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