Centra has been selected as a 100 Top Cardiovascular Hospital in America for the fifth time and is one of only three hospitals in Virginia to receive this national honor for outstanding cardiovascular performance.
“We are very proud of our superior cardiovascular quality, care and results that rank us among the top hospitals in the country,” said George Dawson, Centra president and CEO, “and of what this means for our patients.”
Skip Meador, Centra vice president of cardiovascular services and neurosciences, said: “This recognition should assure people throughout central and southside Virginia that they are getting world class heart care when they need it.”
Thomson Reuters today released its annual study identifying the 100 U.S. hospitals that set the nation's benchmarks for inpatient cardiovascular services. The study--100 Top Hospitals: Cardiovascular Benchmarks--examined the performance of 971 hospitals by analyzing outcomes for patients with heart failure and heart attacks and for those who received coronary bypass surgery or percutaneous cardiovascular interventions (PCI) such as angioplasties.
Thomson Reuters reported that the 100 Top Hospitals cardiovascular winners have:
The top performing hospitals perform over 50 percent more cardiac surgeries than peer hospitals. Centra has earned the 100 Top Hospitals designation four other times—in 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006.
“These hospitals provide balanced high performance across cardiovascular services. This means they are providing high quality and highly efficient services at a reasonable cost in comparison to peers across the United States,” said Jean Chenoweth, senior vice president for performance improvement and 100 Top Hospitals programs at Thomson Reuters.
Centra’s heart expertise comes from experience. Physicians perform more than 5,000 cardiac procedures annually in the Centra Stroobants Heart Center. The heart team, which includes three board-certified cardiovascular surgeons, 19 board-certified cardiologists, 21 emergency medicine physicians and seven board-certified anesthesiologists earned their medical degrees and specialty training at some of the finest medical schools in the country.
Centra’s cardiovascular team also brings together more than 400 health care specialists, including nurses who hold the nation’s highest honor with Magnet designation.
Not only are Centra’s cardiovascular services ranked among the top heart hospitals in the country, but Centra also holds The Society of Thoracic Surgeons’ highest rating for quality in cardiac surgery. In May, for the third year in a row, the Society of Thoracic Surgeons awarded Centra a three-star rating--its highest rating for quality in cardiac surgery. Only 10 percent of the hospitals across the country participating in the analysis of national data were awarded the three-star ranking for cardiac surgery performance. Centra is the only health care system in Virginia to have received the award every year since its inception.
Centra’s excellent surgical outcomes allow Centra to provide high-quality, comprehensive cardiovascular care. Centra has earned the Beacon Award from the American Association of Critical Care as well as top awards from VHA as well as accreditation for its Chest Pain Center with percutaneous coronary intervention from the Society of Chest Pain Centers.
The 100 Top Hospitals study evaluated short-term, acute care, non-federal U.S. hospitals that treat a broad spectrum of cardiology patients. Thomson Reuters researchers analyzed 2007 and 2008 Medicare Provider Analysis and Review (MedPAR) data, 2008 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 (a group of measures that assess process of care), 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.
