The Baylor Jack and Jane Hamilton Heart and Vascular Hospital has earned five out of five stars from HealthGrades for a number of cardiovascular services and has been ranked among the top heart and vascular hospitals in Dallas/Fort Worth and the top ten in Texas for coronary interventional procedures and vascular surgery. HealthGrades is a leading independent health care ratings organization.
"Consumers are striving to make more informed health care choices, and the ratings we've received from HealthGrades provide objective information about the high quality of our care," said Nancy Vish, R.N., Ph.D., president and chief nursing officer of the Baylor Hamilton Heart and Vascular Hospital. "The ratings are a testament to our team's commitment to excellence in every aspect of patient care."
Star-studded Heart and Vascular Care
The ratings were released in HealthGrades' Twelfth Annual Hospital Quality in America Study, which is the largest study of its kind. The study examined nearly 40 million Medicare hospitalization records from the years 2006, 2007 and 2008. The study looks at trends in mortality and complication rates, and also provides the foundation for HealthGrades' quality ratings of procedures and diagnoses at each individual hospital.
The Baylor Hamilton Heart and Vascular Hospital earned five stars for:
- Coronary and interventional procedures (angioplasty/stent) - The hospital is the only Dallas hospital to receive five stars for these procedures. The hospital is ranked in the top ten in Texas for coronary and interventional procedures.
- Heart failure - The hospital is one of only two in Dallas to earn five stars. This is the fifth year in a row for the hospital to earn five stars for heart failure.
- Heart attack - The hospital is the only Dallas hospital to earn five stars for inpatient care plus one month and six months mortality.
- Carotid surgery - This is the hospital's sixth year to receive five stars for carotid surgery.
Hospitals receiving a five-star rating have actual performance, in terms of mortality or complication rates, that was better than predicted, and the difference was statistically significant. Approximately 10 to 15 percent of hospitals nationwide in each procedure/diagnosis were rated five-star hospitals.
HealthGrades' Hospital Ratings
HealthGrades rates each of the nation's 5,000 nonfederal hospitals in nearly 30 procedures and diagnoses, allowing individuals to compare their local hospitals online at www.healthgrades.com. The ratings are objective, created from data provided by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and 17 states that publish outcomes data.
HealthGrades' hospital ratings are independently created; no hospital can opt-in or opt-out of being rated. No hospital pays to be rated. Each hospital receives a one-, three- or five-star rating for each procedure or diagnosis, reflecting the mortality or complication rates at that hospital. Mortality and complication rates are risk-adjusted, which takes into account differing levels of severity of patient illness at different hospitals and allows for hospitals to be compared on equal footing.
