The annual study — 2008 Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospitals®: Cardiovascular Benchmarks for Success — examined the performance of 970 hospitals by analyzing clinical outcomes for patients diagnosed with heart failure and heart attacks and for those who received coronary bypass surgery and angioplasties.  The 2008 winners were announced November 17 in Modern Healthcare magazine.

“We are especially pleased to be recognized again for our quality of care in cardiovascular services,” said Scott Whalen, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of St. Vincent’s HealthCare.  “We have a long history of outstanding clinical programs, and we are pleased to receive national recognition for the excellent heart and vascular care available to the people of Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia who count on St. Vincent’s.”

St. Vincent’s Medical Center is home to a cardiovascular care program long recognized for its clinical excellence.   As the largest heart program between Atlanta and Orlando, St. Vincent’s has previously been recognized by U.S.News & World Report and by HealthGrades, organizations that also analyze and recognize healthcare providers for superior performance in heart and vascular care. 

“These hospitals provide enormous value to their communities because heart disease is still the nation’s number one killer. They have set the new national standard for cardiovascular disease outcomes, process of care, efficiency and lower costs,” said Jean Chenoweth, senior vice president for performance improvement and 100 Top Hospitals programs in the Healthcare business of Thomson Reuters.

While the average mortality rate for cardiovascular patients is very low (3.4 percent), the mortality rate for bypass surgery was 26 percent lower in the 100 Top Hospitals cardiovascular winners. The award-winning hospitals demonstrated higher performance on the evidence-based core measures published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and cost $1,542 less per case, on average.

“We are very proud to be among the 100 best institutions for cardiovascular care in the nation,” said Samer Garas, M.D. Chief of Cardiology at St. Vincent’s Medical Center.  “St. Vincent’s has traditionally been the top provider in this area for cardiovascular care.  We strive to provide the best care for our patients and always make certain we are on the cutting edge by continually offering new treatment modalities for cardiovascular diseases.”

St. Vincent’s performs approximately 20,000 cardiovascular procedures each year -- including diagnostic and non-invasive testing services, outpatient treatments, interventional procedures and surgeries.  Physicians feel the national recognition from Thomson Reuters is well deserved, and they credit a team approach made possible by heart experts at all levels of care.

“I’m very proud of this recognition for everybody involved,” said Cardiovascular Surgeon Mark Mostovych, M.D.  “That includes cardiac anesthesiologists, perfusionists and operating room nurses, as well as the nationally-certified nurses who care for our patients in open heart recovery and the open heart progressive care unit. A doctor can do a perfect open-heart surgery, but the recovery process requires expert care in the days that follow.  The solid training and experience our heart patients get at all levels helps explain this national ranking.”

The 100 Top Hospitals study focused on short-term, acute care, non-federal U.S. hospitals that treat a broad spectrum of cardiology patients. Thomson Reuters researchers analyzed 2006 and 2007 Medicare Provider Analysis and Reviewed (MedPAR) data, 2007 Medicare cost reports and data from other sources. They scored hospitals in key performance areas: risk-adjusted medical mortality, risk-adjusted surgical mortality, risk-adjusted complications, core measures score, percentage of coronary bypass patients with internal mammary artery use, procedure volume, severity-adjusted average length of stay and wage- and severity-adjusted average cost.