Western Baptist named one of nation's Top Cardiac Hospitals

Western Baptist Hospital has been named one of the nation's 100 Top Hospitals® for cardiovascular care by Thomson Reuters.     

The annual study — 100 Top Hospitals®: Cardiovascular Benchmarks — examined 971 hospitals, analyzing clinical outcomes for patients diagnosed with heart failure and heart attacks and for those who received coronary bypass surgery or percutaneous cardiovascular interventions, such as angioplasties. (For more information, see brochure.)

This is the first time Western Baptist has been recognized with this honor. It is one of 30 community hospitals, along with 70 teaching hospitals, on the list. The only other Kentucky hospital is St. Joseph-London (Ky.), and Vanderbilt University Medical Center is the only Tennessee hospital listed.

The 2009 winners were announced Nov. 16 in Modern Healthcare magazine.

“Cardiovascular disease is still the number-one killer in the United States so we look for the hospitals that provide the best care,” said Jean Chenoweth, senior vice president for performance improvement and 100 Top Hospitals programs of Thomson Reuters. “These hospitals set the national standard for cardiovascular disease outcomes, process of care, efficiency, and lower costs. They deliver significant value to their communities.”

The study, in its 11th year, found that the 100 Top Hospitals cardiovascular winners have:

• 17 percent lower mortality rates for heart attack patients.
• 10 percent lower mortality rates for heart failure patients
• 27 percent lower mortality for bypass surgery patients.
• 22 percent lower mortality following PCI.
• Fewer post-operative complications — 99 percent of patients were complication-free.
• Close to 12 percent shorter average hospital stay.
• 12 percent lower cost per case.

Larry Barton, Western Baptist president and CEO, credited physicians and staff for the hospital’s tradition of excellent cardiac care. “It is gratifying to be recognized for providing quality care,” he said, “because for our heart patients, this means better performance, fewer complications and lower mortality rates.”

He noted Western Baptist’s cardiac care has been recognized in the nation’s top 5 percent with national accreditation for its chest pain center and the Gold Performance Achievement Award for coronary artery disease treatment in the American Heart Association’s Get with the Guidelines program. Last year, Western Baptist was named among Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospitals®: Performance Improvement Leaders. 

Hospitals do not pay to be included in the 100 Top Hospitals program, nor pay for a license to market the awards.

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 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 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.

The 100 winners are listed at www.thomsonreuters.com.