Mercy News Room

December 5, 2007

Mercy– North Iowa Named One of the Nation's Top Cardiovascular Hospitals for Seventh Year

MASON CITY -- Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa has been named one of the nation's 100 Top Hospitals® for cardiovascular care by Thomson Healthcare, formerly known as Solucient, for the seventh year. The annual Thomson Healthcare award is based on hospitals' performance treating congestive heart failure, heart attacks, and coronary artery bypass surgery.

"These winning hospitals bring great value to their communities," said Jean Chenoweth, senior vice president for performance improvement and 100 Top Hospitals programs in the Center for Healthcare Improvement, Thomson Healthcare. "They have set national benchmarks for clinical process, outcomes, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness."

Among the key findings from the 2007 Thomson 100 Top Hospitals: Cardiovascular Benchmarks for Success study:

  • If all cardiovascular hospitals achieved the same results as the 100 Top Hospitals award winners, more than 7,000 lives would be saved and nearly 750 medical complications would be avoided annually.
  • The award winners reported hospital stays 12 percent shorter, on average, than peer hospitals (5.14 days compared with 5.85 days).
  • The 100 Top Hospitals reported costs that averaged 13 percent — or about $2,000 — less per case than peer hospitals.
  • There was a large difference in the volume of heart procedures performed by the winning hospitals and their peers. The 100 Top Hospitals performed nearly two-thirds more coronary artery bypass grafts and percutaneous coronary interventions such as angioplasty.

“We are extremely proud to be one of only 15 hospitals in the entire nation to receive the Top 100 Cardiovascular Hospitals award seven or more years,” said Mitch Morrison, Director, Mercy Heart Center. “This achievement is a testament to the outstanding quality of care provided here in North Iowa by the team of skilled physicians, nurses, therapists, technologists and other staff members who dedicate themselves to our patients.”

Thomson Healthcare scored facilities in eight key performance areas: risk-adjusted medical mortality, risk-adjusted surgical mortality, risk-adjusted complications, core measures score, percentage of CABG patients with internal mammary artery use, procedure volume, severity-adjusted average length of stay, and wage- and severity-adjusted average cost. 

More information on this study and other 100 Top Hospitals research is available at www.100tophospitals.com.