St. Helena Hospital has been ranked by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in the top 10 percent of U.S. hospitals it reviewed for care of patients who have had a heart attack, undergone bypass surgery, suffered pneumonia, or undergone hip or knee replacement surgery.

CMS officials said 260 hospitals participated in the patient quality improvement project, dubbed the "Premier Hospital Quality Incentive Demonstration." St. Helena was the only participating California hospital to achieve the recognition.

"It's an historical transition in health care here," said Mary Bergerson, director of the hospital's performance improvement.

CMS expects to pay out $8.5 million to the top hospitals, plus an additional two percent bonus on Medicare payments for the top achievers. St. Helena will receive a quality bonus for its treatment of heart failure.

Hospital officials did not immediately know how much the Napa County facility will receive.

"We are one of 18 California hospitals participating in this patient care quality improvement project, and one of five to participate in Northern California," said Lisa Fowler, a registered nurse and the hospital's clinical quality coordinator. "We are the beta testers in what may become mandatory reporting of treatment indicators for all hospitals in the country."

Hospitals were evaluated on 33 clinical measures, such as the outcome of the procedure and whether patients received proper treatment, she said.

St. Helena Hospital has participated in the project for two years, and plans to continue the program through 2006. "In 2007, we expect that the quality improvement measures we helped test will become mandatory for every hospital in the country," Fowler said.