KING CITY — A healthcare think tank has published a national ranking of socially responsible hospitals, with Mee Memorial Healthcare System earning top marks across three major categories.
The King City-based facility scored “A” grades in Health Equity, Pay Equity and Community Benefit.
The Lown Institute Hospital Index is the first ranking to evaluate hospital social responsibility of more than 3,000 U.S. hospitals. It includes 54 metrics across the equity, value and outcomes categories. Only 75 hospitals made the Lown Index Honor Roll by earning “A” grades in all three of those categories.
The Equity category reflects a commitment to inclusivity, pay equity and community investment. Mee Memorial Healthcare System ranked 386th of 3,708 hospitals.
In Pay Equity (reflecting how well hospital staff are paid compared to executives), MMHS ranked 13th out of 253 in California. In Community Benefit (how well hospitals invest in community health), it ranked 227th of 3,641 nationwide.
Given the Covid-19 pandemic and movements for racial justice, health equity has become a top priority for American hospitals. Lown Hospitals Index for Social Responsibility is the only ranking to include equity as a major category. Many large, well-known hospitals struggled to achieve top grades on the Index due to weak equity scores.
“It’s not enough for hospitals to say they’re committed to social responsibility,” said Dr. Vikas Saini, president of the Lown Institute. “They need to put their commitment into action. Doing well on the Lown Index is one way they can demonstrate progress.”
