Lower complications, fewer
readmissions, lower costs
are hallmarks of quality
care at St. Joseph
Reading, Pa.,
October 1, 2012 --
St. Joseph Medical Center
continues to advance
excellence in cardiac care
for all Berks Countians by
being named as one of the
Top 50 Cardiovascular
hospitals in the country for
the second year in a row by
independent rating agency
Truven Health Analytics,
formerly Thomson Reuters.
St. Joseph was the only
hospital in the local region
named to the national Top 50
list.
According to Truven,
selection as one of the Top
50 Cardiovascular Hospital
reflects the “reliable
cardiovascular excellence
St. Joseph Medical Center
provides, which benefits
your cardiovascular
patients, their families,
employers and the entire
community.”
Truven noted that “as a
winner” St. Joseph achieved
top performance compared
with peers in cardiovascular
outcomes, innovative
clinical processes, high
quality outcomes for
patients, and clinical
efficiency for the two most
common cardiovascular
conditions--heart attacks
and heart failure, and the
two most common types of
cardiac intervention -- PCI
(percutaneous coronary
intervention, known as
angioplasty and stenting)
and CABG (coronary artery
bypass graph, known as open
heart surgery).
Truven scored hospitals in
key performance areas:
risk-adjusted 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, lower than peer 30-day
mortality rates, lower than
peer 30-day readmission
rates, severity-adjusted
average length of stay, and
wage- and severity-adjusted
average cost.
The Top 50 Cardiac Hospitals
perform better than other
hospitals in the following
ways:
Better risk-adjusted
survival rates (41 percent
fewer deaths than expected,
compared with 9 percent
fewer than expected at peer
hospitals, for bypass
surgery patients).
-
Lower complications indices
(35 percent lower rate of
heart failure complications
than peers).
-
Fewer patients readmitted to
the hospital after 30 days.
-
Shorter hospital stays. Due
to timely and effective
clinical interventions, the
typical winning hospital
released their bypass
patients a full day sooner,
and their heart attack and
heart failure patients about
three-quarters of a day
sooner than their peers.
-
Lower costs. Top hospitals
spend $3,500 less per bypass
case and $1,000 less per
angioplasty than
non-winners.
St. Joseph does not pay a
fee or participate in any
way in Truven’s analysis,
only learning about the
honor after it has been
awarded. Truven bases its
analysis on public data
sources using peer-reviewed
methodologies. Truven
researchers analyzed 2010
and 2011 Medicare Provider
Analysis and Review (MedPAR)
data, 2010 Medicare cost
reports, and 2012 Centers
for Medicare and Medicaid
Services (CMS) Hospital
Compare data.
"Given the rigor and
objectivity of the analysis,
Truven’s award is among the
most prestigious national
honors for heart care," St.
Joseph President and Chief
Executive Officer John R.
Morahan said. "I want to
acknowledge and thank many
people for their leadership
and commitment to providing
our patients with
leading-edge care that
results in quality
outcomes." Morahan praised
Sharon Strohecker, Chief
Nursing Officer and Vice
President of Clinical
Services and Dr. Mayank Modi,
Chief of Cardiology, along
with Lori Shober, Director
of the St. Joseph Heart
Institute; all of the
cardiology nurses and
technologists, and
cardiothoracic surgery staff
and all support staff; he
also thanked every
cardiologist and staff
member of Berks
Cardiologists, Ltd., "whose
partnership is critical to
developing and sustaining
the culture of excellence
and innovation for which the
Heart Institute is known";
and to "all of St. Joseph
staff involved in providing
care to our patients--from
the Emergency Room to the
bedside nurse—and every
paramedic and EMT who
delivers pre-hospital care."
Morahan said that achieving
the Top 50 Cardiac Hospital
designation again is clear
recognition of St. Joseph
Medical Center’s leadership
in advancing heart care in
our community.
"We continue to move forward
with many exciting clinical
innovations in the Heart
Institute, including,
recently, the addition of
new members to our
Cardiothoracic Surgery Team
and the establishment of new
programs for both minimally
invasive valve surgery and
the advanced treatment of
abnormal heart rhythms.
These new programs will
build on St. Joseph’s
reputation as among the best
heart hospitals in the
country," he said.
2605 Keiser Blvd.
Wyomissing, PA 19610
∙
(610) 685-8500