Owensboro Medical Health System announced today that it has received the Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence™ for the fifth consecutive year, retaining its ranking among the top five percent of more than 4,500 hospitals nationwide for clinical performance. The award comes from Healthgrades, a leading provider of information about physicians and hospitals.

OMHS is one of 262 hospitals receiving the clinical excellence award today. While many hospitals cite specific areas of expertise and high-quality outcomes in individual specialties, hospitals receiving the clinical excellence award have demonstrated excellence and high-quality care across multiple service lines. From 2009 through 2011, top five-percent hospitals had an overall 30.9 percent lower risk-adjusted mortality rate as compared to hospitals that did not achieve clinical excellence award, which evaluates performance across 18 common inpatient conditions and procedures.

Today, consumers have unprecedented access to information on hospital performance as it relates to specific conditions and procedures so that they can make more informed decisions about who to see and where to go for care,” said Evan Marks, EVP of Informatics and Strategy for Healthgrades. “The Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence enables hospitals to communicate their commitment to providing outstanding patient care and to show their continued efforts to improve clinical outcomes.”

The clinical excellence award is based on dozens of star ratings OMHS received in Healthgrades’ October 2012 annual announcement. For the second consecutive year, the hospital is holding its place in the top ten percent of hospitals in the nation for cardiology, stroke, pulmonary and critical care.

For more information about Healthgrades, to download a full copy of the report or to get information about hospital and physician quality, visit: www.Healthgrades.com today.