3 of Georgia's highest-rated hospitals are in Atlanta, analysis says

Many of the hospitals in the top 10 are tied with one another according to their smart ratings, but HealthGrove ranked them separately. The hospitals were also ranked by patients who rated them on a 9 or 10, out of a scale of 1-10, and by patient experience on a five-star scale.

The complete top 10 and their smart ratings are:

1. Emory University Hospital, Atlanta (93 percent)

2. The Medical Center of Central Georgia, Macon (91 percent)

3. Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta (91 percent)

4. Memorial Health University Medical Center, Savannah (90 percent)

5. Tanner Medical Center Villa Rica, Villa Rica (90 percent)

6. University Hospital, Augusta (90 percent)

7. St. Joseph's/Candler, Savannah (90 percent)

8. Northeast Georgia Medical Center, Gainesville (90 percent)

9. Piedmont Hospital, Atlanta (89 pecent)

10. Athens Regional Medical Center, Athens (89 percent)

The smart rating is a composite of several other rankings and scores and percentages, according to HealthGrove: A third of it comes from the U.S. News & World Report hospital rankings, 26.7 percent come from national rankings by Truven Health Analytics, a data firm, and 12 percent come from the Medicare Performance Score, which measures quality of care.

The remainder of the smart rating comes from percent death rates from pneumonia, heart attack and heart failure; the percent number of catheter-associated UTIs; and the percent number of cases at the hospital "for the top 70 Medicare severity-diagnosis related groups."

The lowest-rated hospitals in Georgia, with matching scores of 43, are the Southwest Georgia Regional Medical Center, in Cuthbert, and Turning Point Hospital, in Moultrie.

In a statement to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Southwest Georgia Regional CEO Kim Gilman said, "Southwest Georgia Regional Medical Center is a critical access hospital located in a rural part of Georgia. With fewer specialties, limited resources and a higher level of poverty, the ranking measures of smaller hospitals often reflect the health challenges of the communities they serve. Larger hospitals tend to have higher scores due to a broader level and variety of specialty care.

"We have a strong focus on quality, which continues to be reflected in our outcomes. Our surgical site infection rate has remained at 0 percent for the past two year and healthcare associated infection rate is also at 0 percent, with prior year being .1 percent."

The AJC has been in contact with Turning Point, but has not received a comment about its rating.

Click here to see the AJC's database on metro Atlanta hospitals, including details on patient safety