A health care rating firm this month awarded high marks to several Northwest Indiana hospitals.

Hospitals within the Community Healthcare System, the Sisters of St. Francis Health Services system, The Methodist Hospitals and the Porter hospital system were among those nationwide to receive HealthGrades' best rating of five stars for a variety of hospital services.

The Community Healthcare System's Community Hospital in Munster also was the only Indiana hospital designated by HealthGrades as one of America's 50 best hospitals for overall care in 2008.

The award goes to hospitals that have been recognized by HealthGrades for clinical excellence for the most consecutive years.

Hospitals are recognized for clinical excellence based on mortality and complication rates. Patients treated at the top-rated hospitals nationwide have on average a 70 percent lower chance of dying than those admitted to all the other hospitals, HealthGrades reports.

The Community Hospital and St. Catherine Hospital in East Chicago, both part of the Community Healthcare System, were the only Northwest Indiana hospitals recognized for clinical excellence in 2008.

The findings were included in the eleventh annual HealthGrades Hospital Quality in America Study, which analyzed more than 41 million Medicare hospitalization records from 2005 to 2007 at the nation's roughly 5,000 nonfederal hospitals.

Northwest Indiana hospital officials said the report shows that local facilities compare favorably to top-ranked hospitals nationwide.

The ratings demonstrate that "the quality of care provided by our local hospitals measures up to the best hospitals in the country," Community Healthcare System Vice President John Gorski said.

Gene Diamond, Northern Indiana region chief executive officer for Sisters of St. Francis Health Services, said, "Patients and employers here truly have access to health care that is among the best in the nation."

HealthGrades' recognition of Methodist Hospitals' stroke treatment program came in addition to Methodist's neurology and neurosurgery programs being named to the U.S. News & World Report top 50 in the country earlier this year, CEO Ian McFadden said.

"These awards and national recognition are a testament to the excellent work and dedication of our physicians and staff and, our commitment to delivering excellent quality health care," McFadden said.