Congratulations to New Albany’s Baptist Memorial Hospital-Union County (BMH-UC) for being named Mississippi’s 2023 Most Socially Responsible Hospital.
On July 18, this prestigious award for the most socially responsible hospital in each state was accorded to BMH-UC by the Lown Institute. Based in Needham, Massachusetts, this nonpartisan and nonprofit think tank conducts research aimed at evaluating and improving America’s health care system.
This year’s rankings for the Lown Institute Hospitals Index came from a careful study of almost 4,000 hospitals nationwide, using more than 50 metrics from three main categories: equity, value of care, and patient outcomes. Evaluating each hospital’s patients, employees, and surrounding community, these metrics covered factors such as pay equity, inclusivity, safety, avoidance of overuse, cost efficiency, clinical outcomes, and patient satisfaction.
Merely one component of the overall study, The Lown Hospitals Index for Social Responsibility is the only national ranking that provides patients and providers a holistic evaluation of hospital performance. After Lown’s thorough assessment, hospitals earn letter grades, with “A” being the highest overall grade achievable.
Only 54 hospitals across the United States earned straight A ratings on the Lown Index Honor Roll, a dozen fewer than in 2022. Nine of those A-ranked hospitals were Mississippi facilities, with BMH-UC earning the top socially responsible ranking in our state. Of the 67 Mississippi hospitals surveyed by Lown Institute, 18 secured a B, 34 facilities scored a C, and the remaining 6 garnered a D rating.
For the first time in the four years of this national ranking, Medicare Advantage claims were included in analysis statistics, along with publicly accessible information from traditional Medicare and Medicaid claims, Internal Revenue Service documents, payroll data, and other pertinent sources.
Of note, non-acute and non-critical access hospitals, hospitals located outside of the 50 states and within Washington D.C., as well as federal/government hospitals (including Veterans Health Administration facilities) were excluded from the institute’s study.
In addition to the prestigious award culminating from this extensive Lown Institute study, BMH-UC was previously voted Best Hospital under 100 beds by the Mississippi Nurses Association. Since receiving that award in 2008, BMH-UC has added over 50 more beds and continues to expand. But BMH-UC remains committed to its main objective of providing compassionate, high-quality care for every patient.
So, once again, congratulations to the leadership and staff of Baptist Memorial Hospital-Union County for the esteemed designation as Mississippi’s 2023 Most Socially Responsible Hospital.
