Money Magazine ranks Eisenhower Medical Center among nation's finest in joint replacement surgery

Eisenhower Medical Center is listed in the fall 2003 issue of Money magazine as one of the best hospitals in the United States for total hip replacement and total knee replacement. Among Eisenhower physicians listed were Desert Orthopedic Center (DOC) physicians Adrian Graff-Radford, MD and Robert Murphy, MD. "Eisenhower's Orthopedics Center of Excellence and Desert Orthopedic Center have received the national recognition we have known locally for years -- that we provide some of the finest orthopedic services available in the nation," notes G. Aubrey Serfling, Eisenhower Medical Center President/Chief Executive Officer. "In the field of medicine, physicians who perform a high volume of procedures likely have the most technical expertise. This translates to optimal outcomes for patients. Our orthopedic surgeons demonstrate their skills on a daily basis to our patients, and now citizens across the entire country will know that when they need orthopedic procedures, Eisenhower is one of the top hospitals in the nation to perform them."

Eisenhower Medical Center is ranked number two in the state of California for the number of total hip and knee replacements performed here (1,054) according to clinical data from 2004. Eisenhower is second only to Hoag in Newport Beach, a hospital with twice the number of patient beds than Eisenhower Medical Center, which performed 1,147 replacements.

Residents of the Coachella Valley have access to one of the top orthopedic groups in the country -- Desert Orthopedic Center -- which performs 800 hip and knee replacements every year. In fact, the group performs more hip and knee replacements than even major academic centers such as UCLA and Stanford University. What's more, DOC total joint surgeons are so far "ahead of the curve" that they actually help design new implants, and serve as consultants for Zimmer and Johnson & Johnson, DePuy, leaders among orthopedic manufacturers.

Money magazine compiled the lists with the help of HealthGrades, a firm that uses Medicare mortality and complication data to rate hospitals. Because research has found that volumes are the best indicator for quality, HealthGrades then narrowed the list to the five hospitals in each geographic area -- Northeast, Sunbelt, Great Lakes, Great Plains and West Coast -- with the highest volumes in each procedure.

Money magazine is a monthly publication of Time Inc.