Centra, Central Virginia's Medical Leader

Lynchburg, VA —Solucient and Human Motion Institute released research results that name Centra Health as one of the nation's 100 Top Orthopedic Hospitals. The study, "100 Top Hospitals: Orthopedic Benchmarks for Success" uses Medicare data and compares performance on four established, technical procedures: total knee replacement; total hip replacement; partial hip replacement; and open reduction and internal fixation of fractures of the femoral neck. "The orthopedic department is proud of this recognition," said H. C. "Cap" Eschenroeder, M.D., chairman of Centra Health's orthopedic department and a member of Central Virginia Orthopedics. "We constantly strive to improve the care we provide. When you see the breadth and quality of our services, you realize Lynchburg is a very attractive setting for orthopedic care." The methodology used to calculate the 100 Top Hospitals list is based on a review and analysis of more than 700,000 Medicare orthopedic cases from 1,200 hospitals, using the following clinical and financial measures: Risk-adjusted mortality rates; Risk-adjusted complication rates; Count of unique patients receiving orthopedic services; Average length of stay at hospital, adjusted for illness; Cost per patient, adjusted for illness severity & local wage differences; Percentage of patients who came from and were discharged to home. If…

Centra Health was ranked among the top 100 hospitals in the nation for the success of its cardiovascular program. The ranking was given to Centra Health in HCIA-Sachs's 100 Top Hospitals: Cardiovascular Benchmark for Success – 2000 listing. In its search for the best hospitals, HCIA-Sachs found that benchmark cardiac hospitals, including Centra Health, have shorter lengths of stay and lower costs while achieving superior clinical outcomes. Compared with their peers, 100 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals: have better clinical outcomes in terms of mortality and complications have lower costs maintain shorter lengths of stay appear to be technologically and clinically advanced in terms of the usage of stents and internal mammary artery grafts. Based at Lynchburg General Hospital, Centra Health's cardiovascular program is known as the Stroobants Heart Center of Virginia, named after Virginia philanthropist Alphonse Stroobants. Centra Health was one of only three hospitals in Virginia to be recognized by HCIA-Sachs, and the only cardiac program in the southern, central or western sections to be honored. "Being recognized as one of the premier cardiovascular programs in the country is an important honor," said George Dawson, president and CEO of Centra Health. "The strength of the program isn't just tied to…

A medical team at Centra Health headed by Jeffrey Widmeyer, MD, broke new ground last week repairing abdominal aortic aneurysms in three patients using a less invasive procedure recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The surgery is used to repair life-threatening ballooning of the aorta below the kidneys. With endovascular aneurysm repair techniques, the length of a patient's hospital stay is shortened and recovery time is greatly reduced. On June 1, Dr. Widmeyer, a vascular surgeon, performed the first endovascular aneurysm repair in central, western or southern Virginia. He was assisted in the surgery by interventional radiologist Daniel Golwyn, MD, and general surgeon Greg Alty, MD. Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is an enlargement of the aorta, the main artery of the human body, resulting from a weakening of the vessel wall. If untreated, this enlargement can lead to aortic rupture, which results in death in nearly 80 percent of the cases. Many cases of AAA go undetected, as the disease is usually asymptomatic and often diagnosed by coincidence during tests – such as ultrasound – for other medical conditions. This disease results in major surgery for approximately 45,000 patients per year. The 15,000 deaths attributed to AAA…