Black Hills Surgical Hospital takes top honors for major orthopedic surgery

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) - Black Hills Surgical Hospital has been ranked number one out of 5,000 hospitals across the nation for Major Orthopedic Surgery by CareChex.

Out of the 5,000 hospitals, Black Hills Surgical Hospital had the lowest incidents of patient mortality, complications, and readmissions. They also scored highest in the categories of patient safety, inpatient service, surgical quality, overall hospital, and surgical care.

Dr. Lew Papendick said the award is truly a team effort.

“It is the nurses, it is our surgical techs, it is the reception people that greet people that first greet patients. It is the doctors; we have brought in physicians to our community, a lot of them grew up here and they want to stay here and provide great care. And I think that is the success of it. It is the culture that is generated here,” he said. “Quality expert care leads to quality outcomes and better quality of life.”