Holy Family Hospital in Methuen is pleased to announce it has earned the 2015 Women’s Health Excellence Award™ from Healthgrades™, the leading online resource for comprehensive information about physicians and hospitals.

This recognition distinguishes Holy Family Hospital as one of the top performing hospitals in the nation for women’s health.

 “Holy Family Hospital has always regarded women’s health as a priority.  We pride ourselves in offering the best possible care,  from routine annual gynecology and preventive screenings, to diagnostic services and surgery,  to our outstanding obstetrics and maternity services,“ said Holy Family Hospital President Joseph Roach. “Our recent investment in three-dimensional mammography, which provides more accurate detection of breast cancer at its earliest stages when it is the most treatable, further demonstrates our dedication.”

Healthgrades™ compared Women’s Health Excellence Award recipients as a group, to the group of hospitals that were eligible for the award but did not receive it, and found from 2011-2013:

• Women undergoing procedures where complications are the measured outcome, have on average a 9.6 percent lower risk of experiencing a complication while in the hospital than if they were treated in a hospital that did not receive the award.

• Women being treated for conditions where mortality is the measured outcome, have on average a 31.6 percent lower risk of dying than if they were treated in a hospital that did not receive the award.

“The identification and treatment of medical conditions for women is very different than diagnosing and treating men, therefore it is vitally important that women understand their risks and select a hospital accordingly,” said Evan Marks, chief strategy officer at Healthgrades™.  “Healthgrades™ 2015 Women’s Health Excellence Award recipients have demonstrated exceptional performance and a dedicated approach to delivering superior quality care for women.”
    
Holy Family Hospital’s recent investment in three-dimensional mammography demonstrates its continued dedication to the delivery of superior health care for women.

This technology, known as breast tomosynthesis or 3-D tomo, is considered superior to traditional two-dimensional mammography, particularly for younger women with more glandular breast tissue and less fat, and women with dense breast tissue, cysts or calcifications.

Traditional mammography equipment is stationary and the x-ray source takes a picture through the breast.  During 3-D breast tomosynthesis,  the x-ray arm moves in an arc across the  body, essentially taking a 3-D movie of the breast, which can be looked at frame by frame to view how tissue looks all the way through the breast.

A 3-D image reveals whether calcification is on the skin or within the breast, which is important because skin calcifications are benign. A 3-D image can also show whether a mass has irregular borders, or is a round cyst that would not require a biopsy.

Images from breast tomosynthesis provide the radiologists who read them an added degree of confidence, and reduce anxiety for patients who, with traditional two-dimensional mammography, may have been called back for additional images.

“When the hospital invested in 3-D tomosynthesis it made an investment in quality and improved patient care,” said Arthur Zerbey, MD, chief of radiology. “Breast tomosynthesis in conjunction with other advanced technologies such as breast MRI and MRI guided biopsy, offers a comprehensive breast health program, from routine screenings to testing and treatment.”

About Holy Family Hospital
Holy Family Hospital (www.holyfamily-hospital.org) is a 383-bed acute-care hospital with two campuses, Holy Family Hospital in Methuen and Holy Family Hospital at Merrimack Valley in Haverhill. Both locations provide comprehensive inpatient, outpatient and 24/7 emergency services to the greater Merrimack Valley, southern New Hampshire and the New Hampshire seacoast. Holy Family Hospital’s Methuen and Haverhill campuses are proud recipients of the Gold Seal of Approval from The Joint Commission. Both campuses have also earned “A” Hospital Safety Scores from The Leapfrog Group for their performance on national standards of safety, quality and efficiency. Holy Family Hospital is part of the Steward Health Care Systems LLC, the largest integrated community care organization in New England, which combines over 3,000 physicians, 10 hospital campuses, managed care, insurance programs, home care, an imaging operation, and a number of other post acute services, to provide the most cost effective and highest quality of integrated patient care.

About Healthgrades
Healthgrades, headquartered in Denver, Colorado, is the leading online resource for comprehensive information about physicians and hospitals. Today, more than one million people a day use the Healthgrades websites to search, compare and connect with hospitals and physicians based on the most important measures when selecting a healthcare provider: experience, hospital quality and patient satisfaction.