Top 5% in the Nation for Cardiac Surgery
MedCentral Cardiac Surgery Ranked #1 in Ohio Two Years in a Row
MedCentral Health System announced today that it has been ranked #1 in Ohio for cardiac surgery for the second year in a row by HealthGrades, the leading healthcare ratings company. In addition, MedCentral Health System is a recipient of the 2009 clinical excellence award for cardiac surgery and ranked among the top five percent nationally, also for the second year in a row.
"Being recognized by HealthGrades for a top quality heart surgery program validates what we do day in and day out for our patients," said James E. Meyer, president and chief executive officer. "Our physicians and staff put patient care and safety first. The HealthGrades ratings prove that our care is second to none."
Mr. Meyer also said that the entire MedCentral staff is responsible for the statewide ranking. Each contributes in some way to providing the community with expert care, close to home, he said.
The study recognized MedCentral for the following:
These latest findings were included in the 11th annual HealthGrades Hospital Quality in America Study, which was released earlier this month. The study, the most comprehensive one of its kind, analyzes more than 41 million Medicare hospitalization records from 2005 to 2007 at the nation's approximately 5,000 non-federal hospitals. According to the study, if all hospitals performed at the level of five-star rated hospitals, 237,420 Medicare deaths could potentially have been prevented over the three years studied. More than half of those preventable deaths were associated with four conditions: sepsis, pneumonia, heart failure and respiratory failure.
While overall death rates declined from 2005 to 2007, the nation's best-performing hospitals were able to reduce preventable deaths at a much faster rate than poor-performing hospitals, resulting in large state, regional and hospital-to-hospital variations in the quality of patient care, the study found.
"Our No. 1 ranking two years in a row underscores our commitment to a top-notch heart surgery program," Mr. Meyer continued. "We cannot put our guard down, maintaining the top spot is a goal of ours, and now we know it is a realistic one. While this is certainly good news for MedCentral, it is really our friends and neighbors in the communities we serve who win."
Based on the study, HealthGrades has made available its 2009 quality ratings for virtually every hospital in the country at www.healthgrades.com, a Web site designed to help individuals research and compare local healthcare providers.
On its Web site, HealthGrades offers, free to consumers, quality ratings of 27 procedures and treatments for virtually every hospital in the country. The Web site is designed so that consumers can easily compare patient outcomes at their local hospitals for procedures ranging from aortic aneurysm repair to bypass surgery.
Each hospital receives a star rating based on its patient outcomes in terms of mortality or complication rates for each procedure or treatment. Hospitals with outcomes that are above average to a statistically significant degree receive a five-star rating. Hospitals with average outcomes receive a three-star rating, and hospitals with outcomes that are below average receive a one-star rating. Because no two hospitals or their patients' risk profiles are alike, HealthGrades employs extensive risk-adjustment algorithms to ensure that it is making analogous comparisons.
According to the new HealthGrades ratings, MedCentral:
MedCentral performed its first heart surgery in 1998. Located in Richland County, MedCentral treats patients at various locations, including Mansfield Hospital where cardiac surgery is performed, Shelby Hospital and the MedCentral Wellness Complex. A not-for-profit health system, MedCentral has 351 beds, all but 25 at Mansfield Hospital. More than 2,600 employees work at MedCentral and about 225 physicians are on its medical staff.
Mansfield Hospital is the only hospital in the region designated a Trauma Center and a Comprehensive Community Cancer Center.