February 02, 2006

Genesis Marks Heart Month With Nationally Recognized Care And Outcomes

Davenport, IA – Heart care at Genesis Medical Center, Davenport is safer, less invasive and more efficient than at most United States hospitals, according to a report from The American College of Cardiology.

“The American College of Cardiology has delivered a very powerful message to the public during National Heart Month about heart care at Genesis,’’ said Edmund Coyne, M.D., an interventional cardiologist who is Chairman of the Genesis Heart Institute Board of Directors.  “The message is that if you are a heart patient at Genesis, you can expect to have a less-invasive procedure to open blocked arteries, you can expect a shorter hospital stay than you would have at other hospitals nationwide, and you can expect a high level of safety from cardiologists and surgeons who practice at Genesis.’’

While offering a comprehensive heart program that performs the highest number of open-heart surgeries in the region, Genesis Medical Center is at the forefront of the trend toward restoring blood supply to more hearts using less invasive techniques.

Of every 100 patients who undergo heart procedures at Genesis, only 8 require more invasive and more expensive procedures that require a chest incision. Other hospitals nationally are reporting that 20 to 30 of every 100 patients, or three to four times the number at Genesis, require chest incisions to restore blood supply.

Genesis recently received an outcomes report for the first two quarters of 2005 from the American College of Cardiology. Here are the outstanding highlights from the report:

• Genesis ranked in the top five percent nationally in meeting the national standard of opening up a blockage of a patient within 90 minutes of the patient’s arrival at the emergency department. Genesis has a multidisciplinary M.I. Alert team that has been able to clear the blockage of a patient as fast as 22 minutes after the patient’s arrival at the emergency department.
• Genesis had a risk-adjusted mortality rate for Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI), or catheterization procedures, that ranked in the 91st percentile of all hospitals submitting to the registry. Only 31 of 330 hospitals across the nation reported lower mortality rates than Genesis to the American College of Cardiology. The risk-adjusted mortality rate for PCI procedures at Genesis is seven-tenths of one percent.
• Genesis ranked in the top one percent of submitting hospitals for its success at reopening blocked vessels.
• Genesis ranked in the top three percent for discharging patients following PCI.  Genesis PCI patients spend an average of 1.8 days in the hospital following their procedures and can return to their normal routine faster.

Genesis Medical Center is the only Quad Cities hospital that participates in the American College of Cardiology National Cardiovascular Data Registry.  The Registry is a risk-adjusted database of outcomes for hospitals throughout the United States. Hundreds of pieces of data are submitted for each heart patient at Genesis.

Dr. Coyne said Genesis has been able to open the blocked vessels of a rapidly increasing number of heart patients by less-invasive techniques while continuing to record outstanding patient outcomes.

“There will always be patients who require open-heart surgery and Genesis has highly skilled heart surgeons who are board certified in at least two disciplines,’’ Dr. Coyne said. “Open-heart surgery remains an important part of a comprehensive range of services that Genesis offers, but from a patient perspective, anything we are able to do that doesn’t require open-heart surgery, while maintaining outstanding outcomes, is easier on the patient.’’

Shauna Roberts, M.D., and Medical Director of the Genesis Heart Institute said, “February is National Heart Month, a month when health care
organizations focus on the message of heart health, but Genesis Medical Center and the Genesis Heart Institute focus on hearts every day of the year with remarkable success and outcomes.

“These results from the American College of Cardiology are absolutely sterling not only for Genesis, but for our patients.’’

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has predicted that between 2005 and 2010, the number of open-heart procedures performed in the United States will decline by 21 percent from 265,000 to 209,000.  In 2002, there were 306,000 open-heart procedures performed nationally.

Genesis Medical Center, E. Rusholme St., performed more than 9,000 procedures in eight catheterization labs in 2005.