Fort Myers, Florida, Feb. 20, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lee Health’s HealthPark Medical Center has again been named a top performing hospital in the 2024 PINC AI™ 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals™ study, joining some of the most elite hospitals in the country that provide top-tier heart care. This marks the 11th year that HealthPark Medical Center has won the award.
Formerly known as the IBM Watson award, the PINC AI™ 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals™ represent the highest standard of cardiovascular care in the United States. Premier Inc. acquired the distinction from Merative, formally IBM Watson.
HealthPark Medical Center is one of only five hospitals in Florida and the only hospital in Southwest Florida to earn the designation.
“We are extremely honored to be among the top 50 hospitals in the country for cardiovascular care for the 11th time,” said chief physician executive for the Lee Health Heart Institute Dr. Malissa Wood. “Our cardiovascular teams are committed to providing the highest standard of care and providing world-class care to our Southwest Florida patients every day. We couldn’t be more proud to receive this award.”
This year's study included more than 900 U.S. hospitals with cardiovascular service lines. To create the list, an objective, quantitative analysis of publicly available data was conducted to identify the top cardiovascular hospitals.
The primary purpose of the PINC AI™ 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals™ program is to inspire hospital and health system leaders to pursue a higher performance and deliver added value to patients and communities. Organizations do not apply to participate in the study and award winners do not pay to market their honor.
Award winners demonstrated significantly higher survival rates associated with cardiac care, with fewer readmissions and complications.
The 2024 PINC AI™ 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals™ provide higher quality clinical care and are more efficient than their peers. This year’s top performers displayed:
- 28 percent fewer acute myocardial infarction (AMI) deaths and 50 percent fewer coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) deaths
- 32 percent fewer percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) and 38 percent fewer CABG patients with complications. Higher 30-day survival rates for acute myocardial infarction (AMI), heart failure (HF) and CABG patients (0.3 to 0.7 percentage points higher)
- Lower 30-day readmission rates for AMI, HF and CABG patients (0.4 to 0.8 percentage points lower)
- Shorter average lengths of stay between patient groups – 0.3 for AMI, 0.6 for HF, 0.3 for PCI and one full day for CABG
- $2,503 to $9,931 less in total costs per patient case (the smallest dollar-amount difference was for HF and the largest was for CABG)
- Patients had a better experience at top performing hospitals compared to the remaining peer hospitals, with a top-box Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) score of 71 percent versus 67 percent
If all United States hospitals’ cardiovascular service lines performed at the level of study winners, more than 7,600 additional lives and over $1 billion could be saved, and over 6,700 additional bypass and angioplasty patients could be complication-free.
The PINC AI™ 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals™ program focuses on short-term, acute care, non-federal U.S. hospitals that treat a broad spectrum of cardiology patients. It includes patients requiring medical management, as well as those who receive invasive or surgical procedures. Because multiple measures are used, a hospital must provide all forms of cardiovascular care, including open heart surgery, to be included in the study.
The Lee Health Heart Institute is the largest heart program in Southwest Florida. Based at HealthPark Medical Center, it specializes in everything from primary and specialty care, advanced cardiac imaging, cardiac rehabilitation and more.
For more information about the Top 50 Cardiovascular Hospitals ratings program, visit PINC-AI.
To learn more about the Lee Health Heart Institute, visit www.leehealth.org.
About Lee Health
Since the opening of the first hospital in 1916, Lee Health has been a health care leader in Southwest Florida, constantly evolving to meet the needs of the community. A non-profit, integrated health care services organization, Lee Health is committed to the well-being of every individual served, focused on healthy living and maintaining good health. Health care services are conveniently located throughout the community in four acute care hospitals, two specialty hospitals, outpatient centers, walk-in medical centers, primary care and specialty physician practices and other services across the continuum of care. Learn more at www.LeeHealth.org.
