Which is Better? The World-Class Hospital Near You--or Your Modest Local Hospital?

Something to think about when contemplating surgery or any other hospital procedure is whether a so-called "world-class" hospital is really better than your local hometown facility or the general medical center in a nearby city--like Akron for us. We live only 45 minutes from Cleveland Clinic, world famous for its state of the art medical treatment. World leaders and millionaires as well as ordinary people from all corners of the globe fly to Cleveland for treatment. It's also the go-to place for many locals and when Paul needed treatment for lung disease followed by lung cancer, the Clinic was first choice. The surgeon was top of the line and the operation a success--and yet the after care failed to impress us. Doubled with another patient in a small room after a day in the ICU, Paul was constantly exposed to people coming and going--professional and housekeeping staff attending both patients, plus friends and relatives visiting both. Who knows how many germs were walking right into the room as well.
A couple weeks later I had to rush Paul back to the Clinic where he was treated for pneumonia and kept there for several days. Hardly had we got him home than breathing difficulties, a temp of 102, and general weakness, recurred necessitating a trip in the Granger rescue unit to Medina Hospital where they eventually decided that what he had was C-Difficile, an infection contracted in hospitals! A disease specialist called in from Southwest General Hospital in South Cleveland identified the C-Diff--an infection that is virulent and often very hard to quell. Now, after a couple of weeks, Paul appears to be winning the battle and his strength is returning.
Cleveland Clinic didn't identify C-Diff. The Medina doctors did. Perhaps, because they were so focused on his lung, the Clinic did not look elsewhere to solve the problem. And Paul says the food at Medina Hospital is much better than the dreck they serve in Cleveland. Thank you Medina General Hospital!