U.Va. Medical Center Named One of the Nation's 100 Top Hospitals

March 30, 2009 — The University of Virginia Medical Center is one of only 15 major teaching hospitals to be ranked among the nation's top 100 hospitals, according to Thomson Reuters' 100 Top Hospitals: National Benchmarks study, released Monday. In addition, the Medical Center is one of only two hospitals from the Commonwealth to be selected.

The award recognizes hospitals that have achieved excellence in clinical outcomes, patient safety, patient satisfaction, financial performance and operational efficiency. This is the eighth year the Medical Center has received the honor.

"It's very difficult to be a top medical center, particularly during these difficult economic times. The University of Virginia Medical Center once again has proven its ability to maintain the highest level of excellence," said R. Edward Howell, vice president and chief executive officer of the U.Va. Medical Center. "The key to our success is our faculty and staff, who continue to provide outstanding and innovative patient care. Their efforts are beyond measure every single day for our patients."
 
The study evaluated 3,000 short-term, acute care, non-federal hospitals in nine areas: mortality, medical complications, patient safety, average length of stay, expenses, profitability, cash-to-debt ratio, patient satisfaction and adherence to clinical standards of care.
 
Thomson Reuters estimates that if all Medicare inpatients across the nation received the same level of care as those in the 100 Top Hospitals:

•    More than 107,500 patients would survive each year.
•    Nearly 132,000 patient complications would be avoided annually.
•    Expenses would decline by $5.9 billion a year.
•    The average patient stay would decrease by nearly half a day.

"The 100 Top Hospitals winners raised the bar again this year, delivering a higher level of reliable care  and greater value for their communities and payers," said Jean Chenoweth, senior vice president for performance improvement and 100 Top Hospitals programs at Thomson Reuters.
 
 More information on this study and other 100 Top Hospitals research is available at www.100tophospitals.com.

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