St.Vincent again among nation's best hospitals

For second consecutive year, the only 100 Top Hospital in Indiana

INDIANAPOLIS (December 14, 1999) - St.Vincent Hospitals and Health Services has been named one of the top hospitals in the United States for the second consecutive year.

St.Vincent was the only Indiana hospital to be included on the annual 100 Top Hospitals list developed this year by HCIA Inc. and The Health Channel. The seventh annual study, 100 Top Hospitals: Regional Benchmarks for Success, identifies top performing hospitals based upon quality of care, efficiency of operations, and sustainability of overall performance.

"This recognition is gratifying, because it shows that the caring attitude our associates bring to work each day translates into positive results," said Marsha Casey, president of St.Vincent. "We strive to be a hospital system that provides extraordinary patient care and this a sign that our efforts are succeeding."

In addition to the 100 Top Hospitals honor, St.Vincent has received other national recognition this year for the quality of its care.

In July, U.S. News and World Report recognized St.Vincent’s cardiac program as one of the best in the nation, for the second year in a row.

In October, the National Research Corporation reported that Central Indiana health consumers chose St.Vincent as the "quality leader" in the market for the fourth consecutive year. This year the award was renamed the "consumer choice" award. The St.Vincent cardiac program also was recognized as one of the best in the nation in a separate NRC study, the first time specialties were recognized.

St.Vincent learned of the 100 Top Hospitals designation on Monday.

Looking at the 100 Top Hospitals, HCIA and The Health Channel observed:

Benchmark hospitals (like St.Vincent) treat sicker patients while achieving better patient outcomes, as measured by mortality and complications.

Hospitals recognized in the study are more efficient.

"The 100 Top Hospitals are shining examples of hospitals that have built a culture around continuous performance improvement," said Jean Chenoweth, senior vice president of HCIA.

• The 1999 rankings were based on eight measures of clinical quality

• practices, operations and financial management. Those were:

• Risk-adjusted mortality index;

• Risk-adjusted complications index;

• Severity-adjusted average length of stay;

• Expense per adjusted discharge, case mix- and wage-adjusted;

• Profitability (cash flow margin);

• Proportion of outpatient revenue;

• Index of total facility occupancy;

• Productivity (total asset turnover ratio).

If all U.S. acute-care hospitals operated like the 100 Top Hospitals, national health care expenses would decline by $31 billion a year, according to the study.

"With the explosion of available health news and information on television and the Internet, consumers are taking greater control of their personal health and expenses," said J. Tod Fetherling, senior vice president of TheHealthNetwork.com. "The 100 Top Hospitals study helps consumers make informed decisions about their health care by learning which hospitals offer superior care at lower costs."

HCIA collects, manages, and distributes comparative health care information. Its customers deliver, purchase and manufacture health care products and services. The Health Network is a leading consumer-health destination on television and the Internet.

St. Vincent Hospitals and Health Services network includes five hospitals in Indiana: St. Vincent Indianapolis Hospital, St. Vincent Carmel Hospital, St.Vincent Mercy Hospital in Elwood, St. Vincent Williamsport Hospital and St.Vincent Jennings in North Vernon.

Along with St. Joseph’s Hospital in Kokomo, St. Vincent is a founding member of the Central Indiana Health System, a values-based alliance of local health care providers.