CONSUMER REPORTS RANKS HOLSTON VALLEY,
BRISTOL REGIONAL AMONG 50 TOP-RATED
HEART SURGERY PROGRAMS
Consumer Reports magazine has ranked the cardiac programs at two Wellmont Health System hospitals among 50 top-rated heart bypass surgery programs nationwide.
Cardiovascular surgeons at Holston Valley Medical Center and Bristol Regional Medical Center are recognized in the national listing, which is published in the consumer magazine's October issue. The ranking is based on comprehensive quality data compiled by the Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Consumer Reports is not beholden to any commercial interest and does not endorse any particular hospitals or practices.
Only three hospitals in Tennessee achieved the top ranking. In addition to Holston Valley and Bristol Regional, Saint Thomas Hospital in Nashville is among the top 50.
The ranking is based on risk-adjusted data hospitals nationwide voluntarily released to the public. An article in the New England Journal of Medicine calls the public reporting by hospitals "a watershed event in healthcare accountability."
Denny DeNarvaez, Wellmont's president and CEO, said transparency is standard operating procedure for the Wellmont system.
"Communicating about our strengths, as well as the areas in which we can improve, is fundamental to our mission as a healthcare provider," DeNarvaez said. "This recognition by the nation's leading consumer reporting magazine is one of many instances in which scientific data highlight the excellent performance by our skilled physicians and highly trained staff members."
More than 90 percent of the nation's 1,100 cardiac surgery programs participate in the Society of Thoracic Surgeons registry, which contains data from patient charts and includes information on 11 rigorously validated measures including complications, mortality, surgical techniques and appropriate use of medications. However, only about 20 percent of the participating programs released the data to consumers.
The participating hospitals are listed online at http://www.consumerreports.org/health/ doctors-hospitals/surgeon-ratings/ratings-of-bypass-surgeons.htm.
"The ratings include groups that have agreed to let us publish their results," the Consumer Reports article states. "We will periodically update the ratings, including data from additional groups that release their information to us.
"If you're considering a group that's not yet rated, you should still ask for its results. That's because many groups that have not shared their data with us have given their data to the STS – and should be willing to provide it to you. In fact, if a group can't or won't do that, you should keep looking."
The Society of Thoracic Surgeons is a not-for-profit organization that represents nearly 6,000 surgeons, researchers and allied health professionals across the globe. STS' mission is to enhance the ability of cardiothoracic surgeons to provide the highest quality in patient care.
"Physicians have long recognized Society of Thoracic Surgeons data as an accurate, objective measure of clinical performance," said Dr. Gerald Blackwell, president of Cardiovascular Associates, whose 36 board-certified physicians manage the cardiac programs at Wellmont hospitals. "With this ranking by Consumer Reports, patients now have access to the same information physicians have used and learned from for years."
The magazine's rating of Holston Valley and Bristol Regional is just the latest external validation that Wellmont hospitals are regional, state and national leaders in top-tier cardiac care.
Holston Valley is ranked Tennessee's No. 1 hospital for cardiology by HealthGrades, the country's leading independent healthcare ratings organization. That organization has also listed Holston Valley among the top 10 percent in the nation for cardiology care in 2010. And the hospital has twice been named one of America's Top 100 heart hospitals.
"These honors demonstrate the quality heart care patients can expect to receive when they come to Holston Valley," said Virginia Frank, the hospital's president. "We take seriously our responsibility as a leader in superior cardiac care."
Both Holston Valley and Bristol Regional routinely beat the 90-minute national gold standard for door-to-balloon time as established by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association. Door-to-balloon measures the time that passes from a heart attack patient's arrival at the emergency department door to a physician clearing the patient's blocked artery and restoring blood flow to the heart.
Bristol Regional recently went 15 straight months in which 100 percent of door-to-balloon cases were completed within 90 minutes.
"As the No. 1 killer of men and women, heart disease is the most serious health threat to our community and nation," said Bart Hove, Bristol Regional's president. "Our physicians and staff are committed to excellence in every facet of our cardiac program, and this Consumer Reports ranking clearly shows our patients receive outstanding care when they trust us with their care."
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Jeff Fleming
Kingsport Blog
