What It Means To Be a Top 50 Heart Hospital

Genesis, Davenport one of the nation's best for outcomes and efficiency

It's no small feat that Genesis Medical Center, Davenport has been named one of the nation's Top 50 Cardiovascular Heart Hospitals.

To create the elite list, Thomson Reuters analyzed the outcomes of Genesis and more than 1,000 other hospitals in the areas of heart failure, heart attack, coronary bypass surgery and percutaneous coronary interventions like angioplasty.

Then it only got harder.

Thomson Reuters raised the bar significantly for 2011 and for the first time in 12 years, narrowed the traditional list of top 100 hospitals to only 50.

Despite the demand for higher performance, Genesis became the only hospital in Iowa and the Quad Cities region to make a Top 50 list that included prestigious institutions like Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic.

"This is a very tough honor to attain and for Genesis to reach this level of recognition is extraordinary," says Genesis Heart Institute cardiologist Nicolas Shammas, M.D.,  who will present a cardiac update on Genesis as a Top 50 Hospital.  "Quality and safety, cost-consciousness, comprehensive services, clinical research, education, leadership and the pursuit of cutting-edge technology... all of these must fall into place in order to make a top cardiac hospital."

It takes a triad of excellence -- Genesis Heart Institute physicians, referring physicians and Genesis Medical Center -- all working together.

"When you look at all the quality parameters we were judged on, you begin to realize how difficult it was for Genesis to achieve this," says Dr. Shammas, who is also research director of the Midwest Cardiovascular Research Foundation.

Thomson Reuters reviewed mortality and complication rates, average length of hospital stay, cost per case, the number of bypass surgeries using the internal mammary artery, and 30-day measures for congestive heart failure and heart attack, to name a few.

The hospital was scored on quality indicators, such as the use of aspirin, beta blockers, ACE inhibitors and statins, heart failure education, and whether heart attack patients have their blocked arteries opened within 90 minutes of entering the hospital.

Genesis compares favorably to the nation's top 20 cardiac teaching hospitals:

• Heart attack -- Genesis' severity adjusted mortality index was 15.3 percent less than the top 20 cardiac teaching hospitals;
• Heart failure -- Genesis' severity adjusted mortality index was 13.2 percent less than the top 20 teaching hospitals;
• Coronary artery bypass graft surgery -- Genesis' severity-adjusted mortality index was 123 percent less than the top teaching hospitals.

Put simply, Genesis patients had a lower risk of dying from a heart attack, heart failure and bypass surgery than patients at the nation's top teaching hospitals.

"We're not comparing Genesis to the average...we're comparing Genesis to the top 20 teaching hospitals. This is a tremendous reduction in mortality," Dr. Shammas says. "We're not saying we're perfect. But if you look at the overall parameters and add them together, it was enough to put us in the Top 50. The pursuit of excellence is a continuing journey, and now the bar has been set even higher."

In the last couple of years, Genesis has increased focus on quality and patient safety and been extremely active in gathering data on safety, adverse events and quality indicators pertaining to heart care.

 "This allows us to know how  we're doing on a frequent basis, so we can respond quickly, " Dr. Shammas says.

"Cardiology is a living specialty. It's on the move at all times. What we practice today is not what we'll practice a year from now or five years from now. In order to be on the cutting-edge, Genesis has had to have the flexibility to adopt new technology and even technology that hasn't appeared in the marketplace."

He adds, "Education of our physicians and staff is important, and Genesis has been blessed with fantastic leadership. You also can't be a Top 50 Hospital unless you are cost-conscious, always working to bring in up-to-date technology and have comprehensive services to deal with multiple diseases."

The Genesis Heart Institute is a multi-disciplinary association of cardiologists, cardiothoracic and vascular surgeons who collaborate on the best approach to manage and treat cardiovascular diseases. Through the Institute, patients have access to the most advanced devices, drugs, treatment protocols and research.

"Clinical research is a very strong asset at Genesis," Dr. Shammas says ." Genesis, along with its strong collaboration with the Midwest Cardiovascular Research Foundation, has done tremendous work. Now, we have about 50 clinical trials underway in cardiology alone. It's remarkable when you look back at the number of first-in-the-nation, first-in-the state and first-in-the- region developments that have happened here at Genesis."

They don’t miss a beat

The 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals:

• Spend an average $1,300 less per case.
• Have a significantly better 30-day survival.
• Maintain lower 30-day re-admission rates for heart attack and heart patients.
• Return patients to daily life half a day earlier, on average.