St. Mary’s named one of top 50 cardiovascular hospitals

Truven Health Analytics has named St. Mary’s Hopsital one of the nation’s 50 top cardiovascular hospitals, according to a release.

The ranking study evaluates performance in key areas: risk-adjusted mortality, risk-adjusted complications, core measures, 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.

“St. Mary’s is proud to deliver exceptional patient care that is nationally recognized as high quality and cost competitive,” Craig Somers, St. Mary’s vice president of cardiac services, said in the release. “It takes a team effort to achieve such outstanding results, and I want to thank all of our physicians and staff for the care they provide to our patients.”

To determine the award winners, Truven Health Analytics looked at 2011 and 2012 Medicare provider analysis and review data, 2012 Medicare cost reports and 2013 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Hospital Care data.

“This year’s 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals have delivered excellent care in a time of sweeping change in the health care system,” said Jean Chenoweth, senior vice president for performance improvement and the 100 Top Hospitals program at Truven Health Analytics. “Their success is a testament to the strong focus by cardiologists, cardiovascular surgeons, and cardiovascular service administrators and staff on basic care and outcomes.”

According to the release, if all cardiovascular providers in the U.S. performed at the level of this year’s winners, 8,600 additional lives could be saved, $1 billion could be saved, and 3,200 additional bypass and angioplasty patients could be complication free.

The 50 top cardiovascular hospitals also have significantly better 30-day survival rates, have lower readmission rates for heart attack and heart failure patients, and release bypass patients nearly a day sooner than their peers, according to the release.

The study has been conducted annually since 1999 by Truven Health Analytics, a leading provider of information and solutions to improve the cost and quality of healthcare.