ATLANTA, Jan. 8 /PRNewswire/ — Piedmont Hospital has been recognized as Best in Atlanta for Overall Cardiac Care and Cardiac Surgery for 2008, according to The Tenth Annual HealthGrades Hospital Quality in America Study.
The HealthGrades(R) study identifies key trends in the quality of care provided by approximately 5,000 hospitals nationwide. HealthGrades researchers analyzed Medicare discharges from every U.S. hospital between 2004 and 2006. Risk-adjusted mortality and complication rates were calculated, and hospitals were assigned a one-star (poor), three-star (as expected), or five- star (best) quality rating for 28 diagnoses and procedures from heart failure to hip replacement to pneumonia.
Patients admitted to the nation’s top-performing hospitals — five-star hospitals like Piedmont — have better outcomes and lower mortality rates than those treated at one-star hospitals, across 18 procedures and conditions, according to the study released recently by HealthGrades. HealthGrades is the nation’s leading independent healthcare ratings company.
“We are extremely proud of this recognition earned by a dedicated team of professionals, who aim tirelessly to attain the greatest clinical outcomes and patient safety standards. To win such high honors by an independent study is a testament to the physicians, nurses and entire team of cardiac professionals at Piedmont,” said Robert W. Maynard, president and CEO of Piedmont Hospital.
Piedmont Hospital is the only metro Atlanta hospital to attain both the Cardiac Care and the Cardiac Surgery Excellence Awards and one of only 108 hospitals in the country to earn the distinction. Overall cardiac care includes performance in numerous cardiovascular services, including care for patients with heart attack, atrial fibrillation, coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG), valve surgery, interventional cardiology, and heart failure. Earlier in the year, Piedmont Hospital was the recipient of HealthGrades 2007 Distinguished Hospital for Patient Safety Award(TM), for the second consecutive year. The award ranked Piedmont among the top five percent nationally for patient safety outcomes.
According to The Tenth Annual HealthGrades Hospital Quality in America Study, Piedmont Hospital also received the following recognitions:
* Recipient of the HealthGrades Cardiac Care Excellence Award(TM) -- 2008 * Recipient of the HealthGrades Cardiac Surgery Excellence Award(TM) -- 2008 * Ranked Among the Top 5% in the Nation for Cardiac Surgery -- 2008 * Ranked Among the Top 10% in the Nation for Overall Cardiac Services -- 2008 * Best in Atlanta for Overall Cardiac Services, 2008 * Best in Atlanta for Cardiac Surgery, 2008 * Ranked Among the Top 5 in Georgia for Overall Cardiac Services -- 5 Years in a Row (#2 in 2008; #5 in 2007 and 2006; #4 in 2005; #3 in 2004) * Ranked Among the Top 5 in Georgia for Cardiac Surgery -- 5 Years in a Row (#3 in 2008; #2 in 2007; 5 in 2006; #3 in 2005 & 2004) * Ranked Among the Top 5 in Georgia for Cardiology Services -- 5 Years in a Row (#3 in 2008; #5 in 2007, 2006,& 2004; #4 in 2005) * Ranked Among the Top 10 in Georgia for Coronary Interventional Procedures -- 5 Years in a Row (#7 in 2008; #10 in 2007; #6 2006 & 2004; #4 in 2005) * Five-Star Rated for Cardiac Surgery -- 2008 * Five-Star Rated for Coronary Bypass Surgery -- 2 Years in a Row (2007 and 2008) * Five-Star Rated for Treatment of Heart Attack -- 5 Years in a Row (2004-2008) * Received the Highest Possible Star Ratings for Coronary Bypass Surgery -- 2008 * Received the Highest Possible Star Ratings for Treatment of Heart Attack -- 2008, 2006, 2004
Samantha Collier, HealthGrades’ chief medical officer and author of the study, said, “Our research shows that while the overall quality of hospital care in America is improving, the gap between the best-performing hospitals and the worst persists. This persistent gap makes it imperative that anyone planning to be admitted to a hospital do their homework and seek our highly rated facilities.”
Among the study’s key findings:
* Large gaps persist between the “best” and the “worst” hospitals across all procedures and conditions studied. Five-star rated hospitals, such as Piedmont Hospital, had significantly lower risk-adjusted mortality across all three years studied.
* Across all procedures and conditions studied, there were lower mortality rates in a five-star rated hospital compared to a one-star rated hospital, and compared to the U.S. hospital average.
The 2008 HealthGrades ratings for all hospitals nationwide are available, free of charge, on the organization’s Web site, located at http://www.healthgrades.com/. More than three million individuals and employees of some of the nation’s largest employers and health plans visit HealthGrades each month to access quality information about hospitals, nursing homes and physicians. HealthGrades also provides consumers and payers with detailed assessments of hospitals’ patient-safety outcomes, based on indicators developed by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
About Piedmont Hospital
Building on over a century of experience at Piedmont Hospital, the Piedmont Heart Institute combines world-class cardiovascular physicians with the proven excellence of the Fuqua Heart Center of Atlanta at Piedmont Hospital, one of the Southeast’s premier cardiac centers. Piedmont Hospital has been ranked Best in Atlanta for Overall Cardiac Care and Cardiac Surgery (2008) by HealthGrades(R), the leading healthcare ratings organization.
The Piedmont Heart Institute is the first integrated cardiovascular healthcare delivery program affiliated with a community health system in greater Atlanta. This novel approach offers patients a continuum of care from primary and secondary prevention, to outpatient and inpatient cardiovascular care. The Piedmont Heart Institute represents a unique, comprehensive and innovative approach to cardiac care that focuses on achieving the best patient outcomes.
Piedmont Hospital is a member of Piedmont Healthcare, a not-for-profit organization that also includes Piedmont Fayette Hospital in Fayetteville; Piedmont Mountainside Hospital in Jasper; Piedmont Newnan Hospital in Newnan; the Piedmont Heart Institute; the Piedmont Physicians Group; the Piedmont Clinic; and the Piedmont Hospital Foundation. For more information, visit http://www.piedmont.org/.
Piedmont Hospital
CONTACT: Diana Lewis of Piedmont Hospital, +1-404-605-3372
Web site: http://www.piedmont.org/http://www.healthgrades.com/
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