For the past decade, we've worked steadily to build a comprehensive cardiovascular program that combines expert teams, innovative diagnostic and surgical procedures, more treatment options and an exceptional Bronson patient experience. All with outcomes that are at or better than national standards.
A significant milestone on Bronson's journey to excellence was achieved in November 2008 when Thomson Reuters announced that Bronson Methodist Hospital was one of the nation's 100 Top Hospitals® for cardiovascular care. The 2008 Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospitals®: Cardiovascular Benchmarks for Success study identified the 100 cardiovascular hospitals in the United States that set the highest national performance levels for both clinical and managerial excellence. Bronson is the only honoree in southwest Michigan on the 2008 list.
Recently, Bronson's cardiac program has received two quality verifications. HealthGrades® recognized Bronson as the best-rated cardiac program in southwest Michigan and rated the treatment of heart failure as five-stars. At the same time, Bronson was one of only 93 hospitals nationwide to receive the American College of Cardiology Foundation's NCDR ACTION Registry-GWTG Silver Performance Achievement Award for 2008. The award recognizes Bronson's commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of care for heart attack patients.
Bronson's commitment to meeting national quality benchmarks is evidenced in the retooling of process and patient flow, which has notably reduced the wait time from when a patient enters the Emergency Department to cardiac catheterization. Even more significant is the fact that Bronson's cardiac catheterization rate is on par with the best practice, signaling appropriate utilization of this diagnostic tool.
A focus on providing an exceptional patient experience also sets Bronson apart from other heart programs. Whether the reasons include Bronson's healing environment, all private rooms, or nurses that go the extra mile, our patient satisfaction is unparalleled in the area.
In other breaking news, will join Bronson in January 2009. Dr. Rashid is fellowship trained in Thoracic and Cardiovascular surgery and is currently practicing at The Marshfield Clinic in Marshfield, Wisconsin. With Dr. Rashid's leadership, Bronson's heart surgery program will continue to lead the way by offering the latest procedures including off-pump coronary artery bypass, minimally invasive valve surgery, thoracic aortic graft and more.
Bronson continues to focus on new ways to treat heart disease-including how to detect it early. The Bronson Heart Scan uses CT technology to detect actual heart disease before symptoms appear. Additionally, Bronson offers a free online heart risk assessment that provides a detailed, confidential report about personal risk factors and ways to reduce them.
From prevention and early detection to cardiac interventions and rehabilitation, our teams of heart specialists are on staff 24/7, ready to diagnose and treat both adults and children. As every minute matters in caring for the heart, the Bronson Chest Pain Emergency Center (CPEC) allows doctors to quickly determine if chest pain is caused by a heart attack, indigestion or another condition. And as part of the only children's hospital in southwest Michigan, Bronson has pediatric cardiologists on staff who have special training in the complexities of treating the hearts of our smallest patients.
Bronson's excellent quality, state-of-the-art technology and clinical expertise means that people in southwest Michigan can be confident that they or their loved ones will receive some of the best heart care available - all in an environment that promotes healing and helps them get back to enjoying their life.
About the 2008 Thomson Reuter's Cardiovascular Study
Thomson Reuters cardiovascular study 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. To qualify as a 100 Top Hospital, Bronson achieved high scores across eight equally weighted performance criteria that reflect the use of evidence-based medicine, good clinical outcomes, high procedure volume, great efficiency, and reasonable cost.
The study, now in its tenth year, found that the 100 Top Hospitals cardiovascular award winners, as a group, performed 63 percent more bypass surgeries and 42 percent more angioplasties than peer hospitals. This may suggest that performance of bypass surgery is increasingly performed in centers of excellence.
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.
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 Review (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.
The measures were calculated for three classes of hospitals; Bronson's achievement is in the second category below:
- Teaching with cardiovascular residency programs, 30 winners
- Teaching without cardiovascular residency programs, 40 winners
- Community, 30 winners
The 2008 winners were announced November 17 in Modern Healthcare magazine. The full list is also available at www.100tophospitals.com.
Top 100 Heart Hospital Campaign
A Top 100 Heart Hospital campaign highlighting our quality and expertise in cardiac care launched in January 2009. The campaign shares that Bronson has been named one of America's Top 100 Hospitals and that quality is at the heart of everything we do.
Check it out.
