Two Connecticut Hospitals Rank Best in US for Heart Attack Survival

Two Connecticut hospitals are in the top part of a list ranking the best and worst hospitals in the US for heat attack survival rates, reports the Hartford Courant.

The list looked specifically at patients who had suffered heart attacks or myocardial infarction. The percentage of patients that lived for more than thirty days after their attack was a major factor in the ranking of 4,500 hospitals around the US.

Two Connecticut hospitals were in the top 20 for patients that survived longer than thirty days after a heart attack. These two hospitals are Hartford Hospital and St. Vincent's Medical Center in Bridgeport.

The information was compiled and published on the website of the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Of the seven worst hospitals non from Connecticut were included, however there were some Connecticut hospitals who's statistics placed them close to the bottom of the list.

The information that is now available on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website is the first time date of this kind has been made easily available to the public. The HHS has been trying to publish this information for many years but have until now been blocked by objections from various hospitals. The hospitals were concerned that the public might misinterpret the information.

Hartford Hospital's director of cardiology, Dr. Paul Thompson said, "We have been building a comprehensive program for many years and are delighted to see our surprise to us that our physicians, nurses and clinical staff rank amonh the best in the country." (Hartford Courant)

The majority of the US hospitals included in the data will not stand out unless they excelled or failed in their care. Most of the hospitals fit neatly into the average for the country with regards to heart attack survival rates.

Speak about the new hospital date was a spokeswoman from the HHS. She said, "In this first year of reporting, {Centers for Medicaid Services, an HHS agency} took a very conservative approach to identifying better and worse hospitals. We want to be highly certain that we were describing performance accurately and in a way consumers understand. So we only put hospitals in the worse or better category if we are very certain of the results-that is, the result have a high level of statistical significance."

On the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website the public can take a look at variety of information about their local hospitals. Information includes the pricing of a hospital. How many patients go in and out of the hospital and hear car information.

Sources

Hartford Courant hospital report
http://www.courant.com/news/health/hc-cthospwebsite.artjun23,0,4751203.story

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website for where hospital information is found
http://www.hhs.gov/