Spotlight On: Top 100 Hospitals for Heart Care

UVA Heart Center tops the list for cardiovascular care  

University of Virginia Medical Center was once again named one of the 100 Top Hospitals in the U.S. for inpatient cardiovascular care. Here, we answer your questions about how the rankings were compiled and how UVA’s heart care measures up against hospitals across the nation. It’s good news for anyone needing heart care. 

Who compiles these rankings?

The 100 Top Hospitals®: Cardiovascular Benchmarks study was put together by the healthcare business of Thomson Reuters, a leading market information and benchmarking company. 

How were the 100 Top Hospitals chosen?

Thomson Reuters reviewed data from several sources, including the federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, for 971 U.S. hospitals that treat heart patients. Hospitals were selected for the 100 Top Hospitals list based on their performance in several areas, including mortality and complication rates adjusted for each patient’s risk level; the number of heart surgery procedures performed; average length of stay adjusted for the severity of each patient’s illness; and wage- and severity-adjusted average cost. For comparison purposes, hospitals were divided into three groups: teaching hospitals with cardiovascular residency programs (this includes UVA), teaching hospitals without cardiovascular residency programs and community hospitals. 

What does this award say about the quality of heart care at UVA?

It demonstrates that UVA’s Heart & Vascular Center is providing high-quality, low-cost care compared with similar hospitals across the country. “Every day, our physicians and staff work diligently to provide the most comprehensive and best heart care to our patients, no matter if they need treatment for a common condition or one that requires advanced procedures and technology. Providing the best medical care is our mission, today and for the future,” says Brian Annex, MD, Chief of UVA’s Division of Cardiovascular Medicine. 

According to Thomson Reuters, the 100 Top Hospitals:

• Perform 50 percent more heart surgeries
• Have lower mortality rates, including 17 percent lower for patients with heart attacks, 10 percent lower for patients with heart failure and 27 percent lower for patients undergoing bypass surgery
• Have fewer post-operative complications (99 percent of patients were complication-free)
• Have average hospital stays that are almost 12 percent shorter
• Have 12 percent lower costs per case

“This recognition signifies what can be achieved when we focus on teamwork and offer patient-centered care," says Irving L. Kron, MD, Chair of UVA’s Department of Surgery.

Has UVA received other awards recently for its heart care?

Earlier this fall, UVA’s Chest Pain Center was reaccredited by the Society of Chest Pain Centers for its quality emergency heart care. 

And several doctors at UVA Heart & Vascular Center were among the 186 UVA doctors named to the 2009-2010 listing of the Best Doctors in America® compiled by Best Doctors, Inc. Doctors are chosen based on a survey of thousands of physicians, who are asked, "If you or a loved one needed a doctor in your specialty, to whom would you refer them?" Only about 3 to 5 percent of U.S. doctors make the Best Doctors list.