New Hanover Regional Medical Center Orthopedic Hospital recently received five stars for the 12th year in a row for the quality of its total knee replacement care.

The recognition came from Healthgrades, an online resource for helping consumers find doctors and care, health care system administrators said in a news release.

The recognition is part of the findings and data on Healthgrades.com and in the Healthgrades 2015 Report to the Nation.

Every year, Healthgrades evaluates hospital performance at more than 4,500 hospitals nationwide for 33 of the most common inpatient procedures and conditions.  
 

The report “demonstrates how clinical performance continues to differ dramatically between hospitals and the impact that this variation may have on health outcomes and organizational costs,” the release said.

According to Healthgrades, if all hospitals as a group, performed similarly to hospitals receiving five stars as a group from 2011 to 2013, on average 228,426 lives could potentially have been saved and 169,298 complications could potentially have been avoided.

Statistics are based on Healthgrades analysis of MedPAR data for years 2011 through 2013 and represent three-year estimates for Medicare patients only.

“The NHRMC Orthopedic Hospital is dedicated to the specialty of orthopedics, and the Healthgrades five-star rating for total knee replacement surgery 12 years in a row shows our commitment to quality and the contributions of our physicians and hospital staff members in making this designation possible,” Donna Bost, NHRMC vice president of specialty hospitals and support services, said in the news release. 

A five-star rating indicates that NHRMC Orthopedic Hospital’s clinical outcomes are better than expected when treating the condition or conducting the procedure being evaluated. 
 
 

The NHRMC Orthopedic Hospital, on Wrightsville Avenue, has 25 board-certified or board-eligible surgeons, many of whom are fellowship trained and perform more than 2,000 joint replacement and 8,000 orthopedic procedures each year. 
 

For its analysis, Healthgrades evaluated about 40 million Medicare-patient records for nearly 4,500 short-term acute care hospitals nationwide, assessing hospital performance relative to each of 33 common conditions and procedures.