Salem Hospital Ranked #1 in Oregon For Cardiac Surgery

(SALEM) - Salem Hospital Regional Health Services announced Wednesday that it has been ranked number one in Oregon for Cardiac Surgery, among the top five percent in the nation for cardiac surgery and a recipient of the 2007 HealthGrades Cardiac Surgery Excellence Award™, according to a comprehensive study released by HealthGrades, the nation's leading healthcare ratings company. "When people need cardiac surgery, they want to know that they will receive quality care. This HealthGrades recognition reaffirms that our patients receive top-quality care at Salem Hospital," said Norm Gruber, president and CEO of Salem Hospital.

"We are very proud of the physicians, nurses, technicians, and all the many employees who work diligently to provide quality care every day, and who made this recognition possible."

Jim Knight, a volunteer with the hospital's cardiac program, had valve-replacement heart surgery at Salem Hospital five years ago. About the award, Knight said "It's a reflection of the people at the hospital. It's a team effort, all the way from the people who plan the surgery, who participate in the surgery and recovery, and cardiac rehabilitation afterward. The hospital team is extremely competent and caring."

As part of its ninth annual Hospital Quality in America Study, HealthGrades independently analyzed more than 5,000 hospitals in all 50 states and the District of Columbia for its 2007 ratings, objectively assessing their clinical outcomes and quality.

The 40 million hospitalization records utilized in the assessment are publicly available and licensed from the federal government's Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The HealthGrades ratings take into account varying degrees of patient severity from hospital to hospital and measure whether patient outcomes for each of more than two dozen procedures and diagnoses are better than expected (5-Star), as expected (3-Star) or worse than expected (1-Star).

"HealthGrades objectively assesses and rates hospital performance in order to help consumers make better and more informed healthcare choices," says Samantha Collier, M.D., HealthGrades vice president of medical affairs.

"With consumers having a greater stake in their healthcare purchasing decisions, it's important for them to know that there is a tremendous difference in clinical quality outcomes between hospitals."

"In Oregon, Salem Hospital stands out notably in terms of delivering quality care for its cardiac surgery patients," Collier said. "Patients, families and employers here truly have access to healthcare that is among the best in the nation."

"This recognition shows that the medical staff of Salem Hospital is striving to become second to none in clinical quality," said David Holloway, M.D., chief medical officer of Salem Hospital.