St. David's Medical Center Only Central Texas Hospital Named to Nation's 100 Top Hospitals® By Thomson Reuters

AUSTIN, Texas, March 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- On March 25, 2011, St. David's Medical Center was named one of 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. This is the second consecutive year that St. David's Medical Center has earned this recognition.

"We are honored that St. David's Medical Center has been listed among the 100 Top Hospitals in the country for two years in a row," C. David Huffstutler, chief executive officer of St. David's HealthCare, said. "The dedication of their doctors, nurses and staff to providing exceptional care to every patient every day has helped establish their reputation as a national center 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 U.S. hospitals, St. David's Medical Center demonstrates 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):

• Nearly 116,000 additional patients would survive each year.
• More than 197,000 patient complications would be avoided annually.
• The average patient stay would decrease by half a day.
• Expense per adjusted discharge would drop by $462.

In determining the 100 Top Hospitals, Thomas Reuters scored hospitals on a balanced scorecard of 10 performance measures centered on quality, efficiency, finance and consumer assessment of care:

• 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 will be listed in the March 28 edition of Modern Healthcare magazine.

Please visit www.100TopHospitals.com for more information on the award and 100 Top Hospitals research.

St. David's Medical Center

St. David's Medical Center, located at 919 East 32nd Street off of IH35, is part of St. David's HealthCare, one of the largest health systems in Texas. Founded in 1924, St. David's Medical Center includes a 350-bed, acute care hospital, and a dedicated 64-bed Rehabilitation Hospital providing comprehensive inpatient and outpatient care. St. David's Medical Center is home to the acclaimed Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute; the renowned NeuroTexas Institute, (including the TIA Center for Stroke Prevention and designation as a Primary Stroke Center); high-level women's services with Level I, II and III nurseries; a Bariatric Center of Excellence; the Breast Center; orthopedic services; and a 24-hour emergency department. In 2010, St. David's Medical Center was named to the list of 100 Top Hospitals by Thomson Reuters, a leading provider of information and solutions to improve the cost and quality of healthcare. For more information, please visit StDavids.com.

Media Contacts:
Erin Ochoa or Kristin Marcum
Elizabeth Christian & Associates Public Relations
512.472.9599

SOURCE St. David's Medical Center