MeritCare named one of nation’s top 100 heart hospitals

For the ninth time in ten years, MeritCare has been named one of the nation’s 100 top heart hospitals by Thomson Reuters. Each year, a study, called the Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospitals® Cardiovascular Benchmarks for Success compares success rates at high performing heart centers nationwide. The study evaluated nearly 1,000 U.S. hospitals by analyzing their outcomes for eight measures (mortality, complications, length of stay, cost, etc.) related to heart attack, heart failure, angioplasty and bypass surgery. 

It’s a challenge to achieve top 100-heart status, and for MeritCare to have received the honor repeatedly is truly a mark of excellence. The study notes that the 100 top heart hospitals have set the new national standard for cardiovascular disease outcomes, process of care, efficiency and lower costs. In fact, if all cardiovascular hospitals achieved the same results, more than 6,000 lives would be saved and nearly 720 medical complications would be avoided each year. For the thousands of heart patients that are cared for at MeritCare, this is important news.

MeritCare’s Heart Center has the largest team of heart specialists in the region:

  • 13 board-certified cardiologists, with specialists in interventional cardiology and electrophysiology.
  • Two board-certified cardiothoracic surgeons.
  • Over 250 employees dedicated to heart care.

Additional information

The 100 top heart hospital award winners had:

  • Bypass surgery mortality rates that were 26 percent lower than peer hospitals.
  • Costs that averaged about $1500 less per case than peer hospitals.

The study breaks the top 100 into three groups:

  • Teaching hospitals with cardiovascular residency programs (there were 30 winners).
  • Teaching hospitals without cardiovascular residency programs (there were 40 winners; MeritCare is in this category).
  • Community hospitals (there were 30 winners).

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