The data for this project come from the Hospital Compare web site (http://hospitalcompare.hhs.gov) run by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The purpose of the web site is to provide data and information about the quality of care at over 4,000 Medicare-certiﬁed hospitals in the U.S. This dataset essentially covers all major U.S. hospitals. This dataset is used for a variety of purposes, including determining whether hospitals should be ﬁned for not providing high quality care to patients (see http://goo.gl/jAXFX for some background on this particular topic).