Norfolk, VA 8 - July, 2005 - Sentara Norfolk General Hospitals heart and cardiac surgery programs placed 23rd among the top 50 hospitals in the nation in the annual survey by U.S. News & World Report.
While the reputational scores of better-known programs helped propel them to higher rankings, Sentara Norfolk General's mortality ratios are better than nine out of 10 top-ranked programs, including Mayo Clinic, Massachusetts General Hospital, Duke University and Columbia-Presbyterian.
1. Cleveland Clinic .62
2. Mayo Clinic .86
3. Johns Hopkins .82
4. Duke University .85
5. Mass. General .83
6. Brigham & Womens .65
7. Columbia-Presbyterian .92
8. Texas Heart Institute .86
9. Barnes-Jewish .73
10. U. of Alabama .82
23. Sentara Norfolk General .64
"There is a truer measure of success than a ranking," says Gary Yates, M.D., Sentaras Chief Medical Officer. "It's that a higher percentage of patients go home alive after heart surgeries at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital than from nine of the 10 top-ranked programs in the survey. We're very proud of that. "
Sentara Norfolk General Hospital also employs 7.5 out of 8 key medical technologies measured by U.S. News and 7 out of 7 Patient Community Services, which include airborne infection control, foreign language translators, pain management and patient representatives.
Sentara Norfolk General discharged 9,921 cardiac patients during the three-year survey period, an indication of a robust, successful program with a strong regional reputation among patients and their physicians.