Top 100 hospitals thrive even in economic downturn

Thomson Reuters has released its annual study identifying the 100 top U.S. hospitals based on overall organizational performance. The study reveals that even in tough economic times, top hospitals show a profit while raising the bar on patient care.

The "Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospital: National Benchmarks" study, released Monday, evaluates performance in 10 areas: mortality, medical complications, patient safety, average length of stay, expenses, profitability, patient satisfaction, adherence to clinical standards of care and post-discharge mortality and readmission rates for acute myocardial infarction, heart failure and pneumonia. The study has been conducted annually since 1993.

"This year's study magnified the value that 100 Top Hospital award winners provide to their communities," said Jean Chenoweth, senior vice president for performance improvement and 100 Top Hospitals programs at Thomson Reuters. "Even during the economic downturn, the 100 top hospitals maintained a profit from operations while raising the bar for clinical quality and patient satisfaction. The insistence of these hospitals' leaders – their boards, executive teams and medical staffs – on overall excellence makes the difference."

For the second year, Thomson Reuters also recognized the 100 Top Hospitals Everest Award winners – the hospitals among the 100 winners that delivered the greatest rate of improvement over a five-year period. This year, there are 23 Everest award winners.

Thomson Reuters researchers evaluated 2,926 short-term, acute care, non-federal hospitals. The company uses public information – Medicare cost reports, Medicare Provider Analysis and Review (MedPAR) data and core measures and patient satisfaction data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Hospital Compare data set.

According to Thomson Reuters, if all Medicare patients received the same level of care as those treated in the 100 Top Hospitals award winners:

• More than 98,000 additional patients would survive each year;
• More than 197,000 patient complications would be avoided annually;
• Expenses would decline by an aggregate $5.5 billion a year; and
• The average patient stay would decrease by nearly half a day.

Top  winning hospitals, by category, with the Everest award winners in bold on the next page.

Major Teaching Hospitals
University Medical Center, Tucson, Ariz.
UC San Diego Medical Center, Hillcrest, San Diego, Calif.
Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, Chicago
Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago
Rush University Medical Center, Chicago,
NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, Ill.
Advocate Lutheran General Hospital, Park Ridge, Ill.
Ochsner Medical Center, New Orleans
Providence Hospital and Medical Center, Southfield, Mich.
Mayo Clinic – Rochester Methodist Hospital, Rochester, Minn.
University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland
Doctors Hospital, Columbus, Ohio
Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, Pa
Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tenn.
Scott and White Memorial Hospital-, Temple, Texas

Teaching Hospitals (200 or more acute-care beds)
Scripps Green Hospital, La Jolla, Calif.
Rose Medical Center, Denver, Colo.
Cleveland Clinic Florida, Weston, Fla.
St. Luke's Boise Medical Center, Boise, Idaho
St. Luke's Hospital, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Riverside Medical Center, Kankakee, Ill.
St. Vincent Indianapolis Hospital, Indianapolis
St. Elizabeth Medical Center, Edgewood, Ky.
Trover Health System, Madisonville, Ky.
St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, Ann Arbor, Mich.
Spectrum Health Hospital Group, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Bronson Methodist Hospital, Kalamazoo, Mich.
Munson Medical Center. Traverse City, Mich.
St. Cloud Hospital, St. Cloud, Minn.
Alegent Health Bergan Mercy Medical Center, Omaha, Neb.
Aultman Hospital, Canton, Ohio
Riverside Methodist Hospital, Columbus, Ohio
Hamot Medical Center, Erie, Pa.
Robert Packer Hospital, Sayre, Pa.
Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center, Sioux Falls, S.D.
Sanford USD Medical Center, Sioux Falls, S.D.
Baptist Hospital, Nashville, Tenn.
McKay-Dee Hospital Center, Ogden, Utah
Gundersen Lutheran Health System, La Crosse, Wis.
Meriter Hospital, Madison, Wis.

List continues on next page

Large Community Hospitals (250 or more acute-care beds)
Scottsdale Healthcare Shea, Scottsdale, Ariz.
Saddleback Memorial Medical Center, Laguna Hills, Calif.
Memorial Hospital West, Pembroke Pines, Fla.
Martin Memorial Medical Center, Stuart, Fla.
Venice Regional Medical Center, Venice, Fla.
Northeast Georgia Medical Center, Gainesville, Ga.
Silver Cross Hospital, Joliet, Ill.
Central DuPage Hospital, Winfield, Ill.
Community Hospital, Munster, Ind.
Allegiance Health, Jackson, Mich.
Boone Hospital Center, Columbia, Mo.
Missouri Baptist Medical Center, St. Louis
Gaston Memorial Hospital, Gastonia, N.C.
Memorial Health Care System, Chattanooga, Tenn.
Maury Regional Medical Center, Columbia, Tenn.
Saint Thomas Hospital, Nashville, Tenn.
St. David's Medical Center, Austin, Texas
Doctors Hospital at Renaissance, Edinburg, Texas
Memorial Hermann Memorial City Medical Center, Houston
Trinity Mother Frances Hospital, Tyler, Texas

Medium Community Hospitals (100-249 acute-care beds)
Baptist Medical Center East, Montgomery, Ala.
Montclair Hospital Medical Center, Montclair, Calif.
Memorial Hospital Miramar, Miramar, Fla.
Piedmont Fayette Hospital, Fayetteville, Ga.
St. Vincent Carmel Hospital, Carmel, Ind.
St. Francis Hospital-Indianapolis, Indianapolis
Jackson Purchase Medical Center, Mayfield, Ky.
Minden Medical Center, Minden, La.
Holland Hospital, Holland, Mich.
Mercy Hospital Clermont, Batavia, Ohio
Southwest General Health Center, Middleburg Heights, Ohio
Wooster Community Hospital, Wooster, Ohio
St. Elizabeth Boardman Health Center, Youngstown, Ohio
DuBois Regional Medical Center, DuBois, Pa.
Skyline Medical Center, Nashville, Tenn.
Memorial Hermann Katy Hospital, Katy, Texas
Dixie Regional Medical Center, St. George, Utah
Memorial Regional Medical Center, Mechanicsville, Va.
Aurora BayCare Medical Center, Green Bay, Wis.
Aurora Sheboygan Memorial Medical Center, Sheboygan, Wis.

Small Community Hospitals (25-99 acute care beds)
Evergreen Medical Center, Evergreen, Ala.
Payson Regional Medical Center, Payson, Ariz.
St. Elizabeth Community Hospital, Red Bluff, Calif.
Desert Valley Hospital, Victorville, Calif.
Parkview Huntington Hospital, Huntington, Ind.
Major Hospital, Shelbyville, Ind.
The Finley Hospital, Dubuque, Iowa
Chelsea Community Hospital, Chelsea, Mich.
St. Joseph Mercy Livingston Hospital, Howell, Mich.
St. Joseph Mercy Saline Hospital, Saline, Mich.
St. Joseph Hospital,Tawas City, Mich.
Buffalo Hospital, Buffalo, Minn.
Woodwinds Health Campus, Woodbury, Minn.
Northeast Regional Medical Center, Kirksville, Mo.
Barnes-Jewish St. Peters Hospital, St. Peters, Mo.
St. Mary's Jefferson Memorial Hospital, Jefferson City, Tenn.
StoneCrest Medical Center, Smyrna, Tenn.
Connally Memorial Medical Center, Floresville, Texas
Lake Whitney Medical Center, Whitney, Texas
American Fork Hospital, American Fork, Utah.