The St. Luke’s University Health Network’s Bethlehem, Anderson, Monroe, Easton and Warren campuses have received the highest possible quality rating, that of Five Stars, from the annual quality and safety hospital review conducted by the United States Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS).

In Pennsylvania and New Jersey, only 23 hospitals received such an honor. The St. Luke’s campuses were the only hospitals in the Lehigh Valley to receive the highest rating.

“St. Luke’s is proud to consistently earn the highest rankings for superior quality and outcomes on national lists based on objective data sources,” SLUHN Vice President & Chief Quality Officer Donna Sabol said, adding, “This is a credit to our 19,000 employees and their unmatched commitment to all-around excellence.”

The CMS ratings are based on an examination of the quality of care at more than 4,000 Medicare-certified hospitals in the United States. The quality measures include safety and value of care, readmission, infection, complication rates, mortality, patient experience, effectiveness and timeliness of care and efficient use of medical imaging.

A CMS tool, called Hospital Compare, is a consumer-oriented website that provides information on how well hospitals provide recommended care to their patients. The information provided by the tool can help consumers make informed decisions about where to go for health care.