Fort Sanders Regional Named One of IBM Watson Health’s 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals

KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE – Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center has been named one of the nation’s 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals by IBM Watson Health. This is the third year that Fort Sanders Regional has been included on the list of top U.S. hospitals for inpatient cardiovascular services.

Now in its 20th year, the annual Watson Health 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals study uses 2016 and 2017 Medicare Provider Analysis and Review data, 2017 Medicare cost reports and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Hospital Compare published in the second quarter of 2018. Hospitals were scored in key value-based performance areas: risk-adjusted mortality, risk-adjusted complications, percentage of coronary bypass patients with internal mammary artery use, 30-day mortality rates, 30-day readmission rates, severity-adjusted average length of stay, wage- and severity-adjusted average cost per case and, new this year, CMS 30-day episode payment measures.

“This designation recognizes the dedicated work our physicians and staff put in daily to ensure our patients receive the best care,” said Keith Altshuler, chief administrative officer, Fort Sanders Regional. “To be included alongside other prestigious institutions is truly an honor.”

Fort Sanders Regional’s Heart Center offers comprehensive cardiovascular services spanning the continuum of heart care. From testing to cardiac rehabilitation, the hospital’s advanced diagnostics, interventional technologies, cardiovascular surgeries and clinical trials serve some of the most complex cardiac cases in the region.

Two Covenant Health hospitals –Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center in Knoxville and Methodist Medical Center – were named to the 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals list. They were the only two hospitals in Tennessee to be included in the Community Hospital category.

According to the study, if all cardiovascular providers in the U.S. performed at the level of this year’s winners (based on Medicare patients only), results industry-wide could amount to: over 10,300 additional lives saved, $1.8 billion saved, and 2,800 additional bypass and angioplasty patients could be complication-free.