St. David's HealthCare Hospitals Named to Nation's 100 Top Hospitals By Thomson Reuters

AUSTIN, Texas, April 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- On April 16, 2012, three St. David's HealthCare hospitals—St. David's Medical Center, St. David's North Austin Medical Center and St. David's Round Rock Medical Center—were named to the nation's 100 Top Hospitals® by Thomson Reuters, a leading provider of information and solutions to improve the cost and quality of healthcare.

The award recognizes hospitals that have achieved excellence in clinical outcomes, patient safety, patient satisfaction, financial performance and operational efficiency, among others. This is the third consecutive year that St. David's Medical Center has earned this recognition.

"We are honored that St. David's HealthCare hospitals were named to the list of the 100 Top Hospitals in the country," David Huffstutler, chief executive officer of St. David's HealthCare, said. "The recognition is a testament to the dedication of the hospitals' doctors, nurses and staff who provide exceptional care to every patient every day, which has helped establish these hospitals as national centers of excellence."

Thomson Reuters' annual study evaluates hospitals on measures of overall organization performance, including patient care, operational efficiency and financial stability. It compares hospitals with other facilities similar in size and teaching status.

Selected from among nearly 3,000 short-term, acute care, non-federal U.S. hospitals, St. David's Medical Center, St. David's North Austin Medical Center and St. David's Round Rock Medical Center demonstrate that high-quality patient outcomes can be achieved while improving efficiency. According to the organization, if all hospitals performed at the same level as the 100 Top Hospitals award winners (based on analysis of Medicare inpatients over one year):

• More than 186,000 additional patients would survive each year.
• Approximately 56,000 patient complications would be avoided annually.
• The average patient stay would decrease by nearly half a day.
• More than $4.3 billion could be saved.

The Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospitals study evaluates performance in the following 10 areas to determine the 100 Top Hospitals:

• Risk-adjusted mortality index (in-hospital)
• Risk-adjusted complications index
• Risk-adjusted patient safety index
• Core measures mean percent
• 30-day risk-adjusted mortality rate for acute myocardial infarction (AMI), heart failure and pneumonia
• 30-day risk-adjusted readmission rate for AMI, heart failure and pneumonia
• Severity-adjusted average length of stay
• Case mix- and wage-adjusted inpatient expense per discharge
• Profitability (adjusted operating profit margin)
• HCAHPS score (patient rating of overall hospital performance)

The winning hospitals were announced in the April 16 edition of Modern Healthcare magazine. Please visit www.100TopHospitals.com for more information on the award and 100 Top Hospitals research.

St. David's HealthCare

With more than 60 sites across Central Texas, St. David's HealthCare includes seven of the area's leading hospitals and is one of the largest health systems in Texas. Known for compassionate, high-quality care, the organization has been recognized with the Texas Award for Performance Excellence, the highest honor bestowed by the State of Texas based upon world-class quality measures. In January 2012, St. David's HealthCare was recognized as one of the top 15 health systems in the U.S. by Thomson Reuters. Perennially ranked as the top Austin-area employer among large companies by the Austin Business Journal's annual "Best Places to Work" survey, St. David's HealthCare is the third-largest private employer in the Austin area, with approximately 7,500 employees. For more information, please visit StDavids.com.

Media Contacts:
Levente Smith or Kristin Marcum
Elizabeth Christian & Associates Public Relations
512.472.9599

SOURCE St. David's HealthCare