Thomson Reuters Announces Top U.S. Hospitals for Heart Care

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Nov. 15, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Thomson Reuters today released its annual study identifying the top U.S. hospitals for inpatient cardiovascular services.

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The study, now in its twelfth year, for the first time singled out 50 hospitals rather than the traditional practice of naming 100 winners.

"We've chosen a more elite group of winners this year. These hospitals have raised the bar significantly," said Jean Chenoweth, senior vice president for performance improvement and 100 Top Hospitals® program at Thomson Reuters. "They deliver higher survival rates, shorter hospital stays, fewer readmissions, and lower costs -- which adds up to enormous value for the communities they serve. As a result, everyone benefits: patients, families, employers, insurers and the hospital itself."

The study examined the performance of 1,022 hospitals by analyzing outcomes for patients with heart failure and heart attacks and for those who received coronary bypass surgery and percutaneous coronary interventions such as angioplasties.

The 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals are listed below.

The study shows that 96 percent of cardiovascular inpatients survive and approximately 93 percent remain complication-free, indicative of improved cardiovascular care across-the-board over the past decade. The 50 top hospitals' performance surpasses these high-water marks as indicated by:

• Better risk-adjusted survival rates (33 percent fewer deaths than non-winning hospitals for bypass surgery).
• Lower complications indices (21 percent lower for heart failure complications).
• Fewer patients readmitted to the hospital in the 30 days following discharge.
• Shorter hospital visits and lower costs. Top hospitals discharge heart patients a half day sooner and spend $1,300 less per case than non-winners.  

The study evaluated general and applicable specialty, short-term, acute care, non-federal U.S. hospitals treating a broad spectrum of cardiology patients.

Thomson Reuters researchers analyzed 2008 and 2009 Medicare Provider Analysis and Review (MedPAR) data, Medicare cost reports, and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospital Compare data. They scored hospitals in key performance areas: risk-adjusted mortality, risk-adjusted complications, core measures (a group of measures that assess process of care), percentage of coronary bypass patients with internal mammary artery use, 30-day mortality rates, 30-day readmission rates, severity-adjusted average length of stay, and wage- and severity-adjusted average cost.

The Thomson Reuters 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals were classified into three comparison groups. (The order of hospitals in the list does not reflect performance ranking.)

Teaching Hospitals with Cardiovascular Residency Programs

Mayo Clinic Hospital — Phoenix, AZ

Cleveland Clinic Florida — Weston, FL

St. Vincent Indianapolis Hospital — Indianapolis, IN

The University of Kansas Hospital — Kansas City, KS

Ochsner Medical Center — New Orleans, LA

Baystate Medical Center — Springfield, MA

Providence Hospital and Medical Center — Southfield, MI

St. Joseph Mercy Oakland — Pontiac, MI

St. John Macomb–Oakland Hospital — Warren, MI

Mayo Clinic-Saint Mary's Hospital — Rochester, MN

Albany Medical Center — Albany, NY

Kettering Medical Center — Kettering, OH

Geisinger Medical Center — Danville, PA

Robert Packer Hospital — Sayre, PA

University of Virginia Medical Center — Charlottesville, VA

Teaching Hospitals without Cardiovascular Residency Programs

Tucson Medical Center — Tucson, AZ

Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center — Pomona, CA

Presbyterian/St. Luke's Medical Center — Denver, CO

JFK Medical Center — Atlantis, FL

Morton Plant Hospital — Clearwater, FL

St. Luke's Boise Medical Center — Boise, ID

Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center — Boise, ID

Genesis Medical Center East — Davenport, IA

Marquette General Hospital — Marquette, MI

Munson Medical Center — Traverse City, MI

Park Nicolett Methodist Hospital — St. Louis Park, MN

Ellis Hospital — Schenectady, NY

Mount Carmel — Columbus, OH

Aultman Hospital — Canton, OH

St. John Medical Center — Westlake, OH

Saint Francis Hospital — Tulsa, OK

Hamot Medical Center — Erie, PA

Wellmont Holston Valley Medical Center — Kingsport, TN

Centra Health — Lynchburg, VA

St. Mary's Hospital — Richmond, VA

Community Hospitals

Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center — Torrance, CA

Martin Memorial Medical Center — Stuart, FL

Venice Regional Medical Center — Venice, FL

Delray Medical Center — Delray Beach, FL

Edward Hospital —Naperville, IL

Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital — Downers Grove, IL

Saint Joseph–London — London, KY

Baptist Hospital East –— Louisville, KY

High Point Regional Health System — High Point, NC

Mercy Hospital Fairfield — Fairfield, OH

Williamsport Regional Medical Center — Williamsport, PA

Avera Heart Hospital of South Dakota — Sioux Falls, SD

Dixie Regional Medical Center — St. George, UT

Memorial Regional Medical Center — Mechanicsville, VA

Aurora BayCare Medical Center — Green Bay, WI

About Thomson Reuters

Thomson Reuters is the world's leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals.  We combine industry expertise with innovative technology to deliver critical information to leading decision makers in the financial, legal, tax and accounting, healthcare and science and media markets, powered by the world's most trusted news organization.  With headquarters in New York and major operations in London and Eagan, Minnesota, Thomson Reuters employs 55,000 people and operates in over 100 countries.  For more information, go to www.thomsonreuters.com.

SOURCE Thomson Reuters