Tower Health’s Reading and Pottstown hospitals have earned national recognition from Healthgrades for clinical quality for 2027 — receiving a total of 15 awards, rankings and ratings across multiple medical and surgical specialties.
Reading Hospital earned two national honors for joint replacement: the Healthgrades America’s 50 Best Hospitals for Outpatient Joint Replacement and America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Joint Replacement awards. It is the only hospital in Pennsylvania to receive both honors for 2027, hospital officials announced.
Reading Hospital Clock Tower. (READING EAGLE)
“One of our strengths is cross-department collaboration, and our joint replacement program is an excellent example of that teamwork,” hospital President and CEO Dr. Charles F. Barbera said in the announcement. “Our joint replacement teams have focused on expanding same-day discharge when clinically appropriate, improving pain management and individualizing discharge plans to help patients transition home with the support they need.”
Dr. Charles F. Barbera (Courtesy of Tower Health)
Reading also received Excellence Awards in joint replacement, outpatient joint replacement and outpatient orthopedic surgery and five-star ratings in treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, upper gastrointestinal surgery, total hip replacement, total knee replacement, outpatient total knee replacement, treatment of sepsis and treatment of stroke.
Pottstown Hospital was recognized for excellence in outpatient joint replacement and received Five-Star ratings for outpatient total knee replacement and treatment of heart attack, according to the hospitals’ announcement.
“I am proud of the exceptional care our team provides,” hospital president and CEO Dr. Richard McLaughlin said in a statement. “Our teams work together and tailor treatment and recovery plans to each patient’s needs, with the goal of helping patients recover safely and return to the activities they love.”
Dr. Richard McLaughlin
Healthgrades rankings are not based on surveys or reputation, Tower Health said in the announcement. Instead, the program evaluates hospital performance based on objective clinical outcomes — risk-adjusted mortality and complication rates — across more than 30 common conditions and procedures at approximately 4,500 hospitals nationwide.
Healthgrades’ 2027 analysis revealed that if all hospitals performed at the level of five-star rated facilities during the 2023-2025 study period, 227,229 lives could have been saved, and 158,138 complications could have been avoided.
“Finding a hospital that excels in a given procedure or treatment can transform a patient’s health trajectory,” Dr. Alana Biggers, medical adviser at Healthgrades, said in a statement.
Healthgrades provides the designations to help consumers evaluate and compare hospital performance specific to specialty areas, according to information on its website.
For more information visit Healthgrades’ Specialty Excellence Patient Advocate Center.