When it comes to satisfying those who use in-patient services; KSB Hospital in Dixon tops the local list with nearly 3 in four saying they are highly satisfied. KSB is followed by OSF St. Anthony with 71 percent, Swedish American at 66 percent, Rockford Memorial close behind at 63 percent and Freeport Memorial at 58 percent.

The comparative study also looks at costs of several treatments. The list prices for heart failure are; from a high of more than 16 thousand dollars at OSF to about five thousand dollars less at KSB. All these figures are for three day stays except KSB which is for a two day stop in the hospital. These figures do not include doctor's fees or ambulance.

Controlling infections is always a concern for hospitals. All of the five large locals did well here. In five categories, four of the five hospitals got from mid-90's to 100 pecent. Rockford Memorial did least well, but still scores in a range from 85-99% in correctly administering antibiotics.