Munson Medical Center in top 50 of U.S. heart hospitals

In a recently released list of the top 50 U.S. hospitals for heart care, Munson Medical Center was one of just a few Michigan hospitals to make the list.

The list, called 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals, was released by Thomson Reuters, which does an annual study of U.S. hospitals evaluating them on inpatient cardiovascular services. Traditionally, 100 hospitals are listed, but this year, the study's twelfth incarnation, it was narrowed down even further, to just 50 hospitals.

"We've chosen a more elite group of winners this year. These hospitals have raised the bar significantly," says Jean Chenoweth, senior vice president for performance improvement and 100 Top Hospitals® program at Thomson Reuters.

To make the list, 1,022 hospitals were examined on performance indicators like the outcomes for patients with heart failure and heart attacks, and for patients who underwent heart surgeries of various types.

It also established high-water marks for excellence, noting that 96 percent of heart patients survive, and 93 percent remain free of complications.

The hospitals that made the top 50 list surpass those standards, and also live up to higher standards on markers like risk-adjusted survival rates, lower complication rates, fewer readmitted patients, shorter hospital visits and lower costs.

"They deliver higher survival rates, shorter hospital stays, fewer readmissions, and lower costs - which adds up to enormous value for the communities they serve. As a result, everyone benefits: patients, families, employers, insurers and the hospital itself," says Chenoweth.

The study was based on data from 2008 and 2009. It classed hospitals in three groups: community hospitals, teaching hospitals with cardiovascular residency programs, and teaching hospitals without cardiovascular residency programs. Munson was in the last group. It was one of five hospitals in Michigan to make the list.

Writer: Sam Eggleston
Source: Jean Chenoweth, Thomson Reuters