November 7, 2005

For the third time, Centra Health has been selected as a 100 Top Cardiovascular Hospital in America by Solucient. Centra Health is one of only two hospitals in Virginia in 2005 to receive this national honor for outstanding cardiovascular performance.

"This is a major achievement that reaffirms our position among the top heart hospitals in the country," said George Dawson, Centra Health president and CEO. "The Stroobants Heart Center of Virginia is a national role model and a major regional resource. We are blessed to have such talented people continually pushing the envelope."

Centra Health’s Lynchburg General Hospital is home to the Stroobants Heart Center of Virginia. Each year, heart center specialists perform more than 4,000 major cardiac procedures, and routinely earn accolades for their quality heart surgery outcomes and speed in reopening blocked blood vessels of emergency heart attack patients.

"This is a very important and well deserved recognition for all of the dedicated care givers of the Stroobants Heart Center," said Thomas Nygaard, M.D., cardiologist and medical director at Lynchburg General Hospital. "Modern cardiovascular care is very much dependent on technology, systems, cooperation and most importantly, teamwork. We are very fortunate to have a group of talented individuals who strive to provide measurably excellent care in all areas of cardiovascular disease. The technology involved and the systems of providing cardiac care are rapidly changing. We continually strive to position Stroobants Heart Center as a leader in cost-effective and outcomes-driven cardiovascular health care delivery."

Each year, Solucient identifies industry benchmarks and recognizes hospitals and their management teams that demonstrate superior clinical, operational and financial performance in cardiovascular service. Solucient is an independent corporation providing healthcare data to thousands of hospitals, payers, managed care organizations and major employers. Solucient data is compiled from Medicare MEDPAR data and Medicare cost reports.

To qualify as a 100 Top Cardiovascular Hospital, heart centers must perform well across 13 performance areas that indicate high quality outcomes and efficient management of care. Solucient looked at patients treated for acute myocardial infarction and congestive heart failure and patients receiving percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty and coronary artery bypass graft procedures. The survey examined areas: four pertaining to mortality, four to procedure volume and two to post operative complications. The study tracked the percentage of coronary artery bypass surgeries using an internal mammary artery graft as well as average length of stay and average cost.

"This recognition speaks volumes about the excellence of our heart program," said David Frantz, M.D., cardiothoracic surgeon, "and it serves as a tangible tribute to the superb work of everyone at Centra Health."

Solucient’s 100 top performers are aggregated into a benchmark hospital group. Against the average score of the benchmark group, Centra Health earned high marks in 7 of the 13 measurement criteria.

"An award like this can only be won with teamwork," said Skip Meador, Centra Health vice president for cardiovascular services. "That includes our cardiologists and cardiac surgeons, anesthesiologists, the emergency physicians who are involved in early diagnosis, nurses on the units, in the OR and cath lab and the ED. Thanks to all the primary care physicians and physician consultants who diagnose and treat cardiac illness every day as well as all the support personnel who make a difference in multiple ways and contribute to our stellar performance."

Centra Health is a not-for-profit healthcare system that includes Lynchburg General and Virginia Baptist hospitals. In 2005, Lynchburg General and Virginia Baptist were ranked among the top 5 percent of U.S. hospitals as reported by WebMD and the American Nurses Credentialing Center designated the hospitals as Magnet hospitals—the nation’s highest honor for nursing services. Centra Health consistently ranks among the nation’s top hospitals for patient satisfaction.

For more information, please contact Susan Brandt, Centra Health communications/marketing manager, 434-947-4731.