Death rates for local hospitals were not significantly different than expected in 2001, according to the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council's most recent Hospital Performance Report.

The report also shows Mercer County's three hospitals -- Sharon Regional Health System; United Community Hospital, Pine Township; and UPMC Horizon, Farrell and Greenville -- compare favorably with state and western Pennsylvania averages in length of hospital stay, readmission rates and costs.

The report for western Pennsylvania covers 28 medical and surgical categories, breaking them down into number of cases, mortality rates, length of stay, readmission percentages and average charge. The report also gives numbers for all hospitals in western Pennsylvania and statewide averages.

In-hospital patient death rates for 10 key procedures and treatment groups dropped between 1999 and 2001, while the amount of time patients spent in the hospital dropped in nine categories within the same time period, according to a news release from the council.

In general, hospital administrators in Mercer County were pleased with the report.

"I think we fared quite well ... the overall report shows we have a pretty good working relationship between the staff and the physicians," said John Luis, chief executive officer at UCH. He also said the hospital was "pretty competitive" in terms of average charges. In most categories, UCH's average charges came in below state averages.

Dr. Thomas Laton, vice president of medical affairs at UPMC Horizon, Farrell, said hospital officials were happy with the report.

"I think overall we're satisfied with what the data shows. We consider this an important measure to use and complement our other performance improvement activities," he said. "It goes along with our daily business ... focusing on efficiency, and focusing on the quality of our patient care."

Officials at Sharon Regional were also satisfied with the report.

"We're certainly pleased the report indicated that Sharon Regional fell within the expected ranges of mortality in all clinical areas examined," said Ed Newmeyer, director of marketing and community relations. He added the hospital's "transfer to acute care" rate for heart patients was lower than the other county hospitals because of the availability of angioplasty, open heart surgery and other advanced procedures at the hospital.

"As the report indicated, we receive transfers from other hospitals for those services," he said.

However, Newmeyer pointed out that the average charges listed in the report did not accurately reflect the money the hospital actually receives for services.

"The majority of patients are covered by Medicare or Medical Assistance, and their payment rates are determined by the federal and state government," he said. "Hospitals usually receive much less in actual payments than the listed charge. The payments received by Mercer County hospitals for Medicare patients are significantly less than those paid to hospitals in neighboring counties due to federal government payment formulas."

Copies of the report, along with hospital comments, are free and available on the council's Web site at:

   » Sharon Regional Health System -- number of cases, 115; transfers to acute care, 15.9 percent; mortality rating, not significantly different than expected; length of stay, 6.5 days; average charge, $14,730. (Sharon Regional provides advanced cardiac services on premises.)

   » United Community Hospital -- number of cases, 13; transfers to acute care, 69 percent; mortality rating, not significantly different than expected; length of stay, 6.2 days; average charge, $9,225.

   » UPMC Horizon (Farrell and Greenville) -- number of cases, 108; transfer to acute care, 46.8 percent; mortality rating, not significantly different than expected; length of stay, 5.3 days; average charge, $9,158.

   » Western Pennsylvania total -- number of cases, 6,058; transfer to acute care, 29.6 percent; length of stay, 5.6 days; average charge, $14,742.

   » Statewide total -- number of cases, 17,685; transfer to acute care, 27.9 percent; length of stay, 5.7 days; average charge, $18,961.

   » Sharon Regional Health System -- number of cases, 205; mortality rating, not significantly different than expected; length of stay, 5.4 days; average cost, $8,223.

   » United Community Hospital -- number of cases, 137; mortality rating, not significantly different than expected; length of stay, 5.8 days; average cost, $7,283.

   » UPMC Horizon -- number of cases, 417; mortality rate, not significantly different than expected; length of stay, 5.1 days; average charge, $6,371.

   » Western Pennsylvania total -- number of cases, 16,625; length of stay, 5.4 days; average cost, $9,567.

   » Statewide total -- number of cases, 42,947; length of stay, 5.4 days; average charge, $13,340.

   » Sharon Regional Health System -- number of cases, 124; mortality rating, not significantly different than expected; length of stay, 8.5 days; average charge, $12,186.

   » United Community Hospital -- number of cases, 31; mortality rating, not significantly different than expected; length of stay, 6.1 days; average charge, $8,082.

   » UPMC Horizon -- number of cases, 100; mortality rate, not significantly different than expected; length of stay, 6.1 days; average charge, $7,767.

   » Western Pennsylvania total -- number of cases, 5,533; length of stay, 6.7 days; average charge, $12,497.

   » Statewide total -- number of cases, 13,782; length of stay, 7.1 days; average charge, $17,482.

   » Sharon Regional Health System -- number of cases, 104; mortality rating, not significantly different than expected; length of stay, 5 days; readmission for complication or infection, 7.5 percent; average charge, $12,121.

   » United Community Hospital -- number of cases, 38; mortality rate, not significantly different than expected; length of stay, 5.3 days; readmission for complication or infection, 2.6 percent; average charge, $10,185.

   » UPMC Horizon -- number of cases, 123; mortality rate, not significantly different than expected; length of stay, 5.5 days; readmission for complication or infection, 1.1 percent; average charge, $9,760.

   » Western Pennsylvania total -- number of cases, 7,567; length of stay, 5.2 days; readmission for complication or infection, 5 percent; average charge, $12,304.

   » Statewide total -- number of cases, 21,646; length of stay, 5.5 days; readmission for complication or infection, 4.8 percent; average charge, $16,777.

   » Sharon Regional Health System -- number of cases, 294; mortality rating, not significantly different than expected; length of stay, 5.5 days; readmission for complication or infection, 2.7 percent; average charge, $9,286.

   » United Community Hospital -- number of cases, 111; mortality rate, not significantly different than expected; length of stay 4.5 days; readmission for complication or infection, 4.3 percent; average charge, $6,674.

   » UPMC Horizon -- number of cases, 433; mortality rating, not significantly different than expected; length of stay, 5.4 days; readmission for complication or infection, 5.5 percent; average charge, $7,001.

   » Western Pennsylvania total -- number of cases, 21,436; length of stay, 5 days; readmission for complication or infection, 4.6 percent; average charge, $10,119.

   » Statewide total -- number of cases, 56,889; length of stay, 5 days; readmission for complication or infection, 4.1 percent; average charge, $14,366.