Two local hospitals were highly ranked among facilities that provide exemplary pulmonary and maternity health care, according to a recent study commissioned by Medicare. Montclair Hospital Medical Center earned the Pulmonary Care Excellence Award for 2008. Chino Valley Medical Center garnered the Maternity Care Excellence Award for 2006-08.

Medicare pays additional compensation to hospitals ranked "best" in a particular medical department. The increase may be as much as 2 percent in addition to the normal Medicare service payment for every diagnosis made for Medicare patients, said Montclair Hospital Medical Center Administrator Gregory Brentano.

Ranking criteria for the pulmonary department is based on patient treatment success and mortality rate data, Brentano said. Newborn survival rates are a major factor in the maternity department rankings.

"We always ask ourselves the question, `If it were my family member sitting here, how would we treat him?' " said Joseph Hourany, chief pulmonary physician at Montclair Hospital Medical Center.

Robert Lee, chief pulmonary physician, said the quality of his department stems from being able to provide more individual care.

The Chino Valley Medical Center maternity department moved to Montclair Hospital in 2006.

HealthGrades, the consulting firm analyzing service data for Medicare...