North Bay Regional Health Centre outstanding in survey

Sometimes it pays to be the lowest.

That’s what officials at the North Bay Regional Health Centre are saying.

The Canadian Institute For Health Information has released figures on the mortality ratio in hospitals.

The NBRHC’s figure is 67 and that is the lowest in the province.

The provincial average is 95 and the national figure is 96.

The ratio represents actual deaths over expected deaths multiplied by a 100.

Chief of Staff at the hospital Dr. Donald Fung says the mortality ratio is an important measure for patient safety and quality of care in hospitals.

Meantime, Hospital President and CEO Paul Heinrich says quality improvement efforts have led to a significant reduction in their mortality rate and position the hospital as a leader.

He says the data also shows times spent in the Emergency Department for admitted patients is 11.7 hours and that’s well below the provincial average of 29.9.