Carle Foundation Hospital is No. 1 in Region for Cardiology

Carle Foundation Hospital is proud to receive five-stars for cardiology services from HealthGrades ® 2007.

Carle Foundation Hospital has received five-stars for clinical excellence in the treatment of heart failure and atrial fibrillation, according to an independent study released by HealthGrades, the nation’s leading healthcare ratings company. Carle Foundation Hospital’s five-star ratings make us the best rated provider in the Champaign-Urbana, Bloomington-Normal and Peoria markets.

We’re pumped to be the top-rated hospital in the area for those services. But we’re even more pleased about what these awards mean – that Carle is helping our friends and neighbors live longer, healthier lives. With highly skilled professionals, the most advanced technology and the latest procedures, Carle has brought nationally recognized heart services to our community.

What is a five-star cardiology hospital?
At a five-star hospital, patients can expect the most superior heart care and the best clinical outcomes.

For example, HealthGrades’ study found that:

• A typical patient would have, on average, a 69 percent lower chance of dying in a 5-star rated hospital compared to a 1-star rated hospital, and a 45 percent lower chance of dying in a 5-star rated hospital compared to the U.S. hospital average.

• Five-star rated hospitals had significantly lower risk-adjusted mortality rates and improved over a three-year period 19 percent more than the U.S. hospital average and 57 percent more than 1-star hospitals.

• If all hospitals performed at the level of a 5-star hospital, more than 300,000 Medicare patients could have potentially been saved from 2003 to 2005.

Why does Carle’s heart care stand out?
From interventional cardiology to electrophysiology, Carle offers the area’s most specialized medicine. And we have the most advanced technology, including a 64-slice CT scanner, digital imaging equipment and intravascular ultrasound machines.

Carle is also committed to delivering the highest quality of care. For example, Carle Foundation Hospital outperforms most hospitals when it comes to door-to-dilation time. Door to dilation refers to the time that elapses between a patient’s arrival at the hospital door and when a cardiologist performs an angioplasty to dilate a blocked artery. That means that patients have a better chance not only to live, but to enjoy a higher quality of life.

Door to Dilation

How did HealthGrades arrive at its findings?
As part of its ninth annual Hospital Quality in America Study, HealthGrades independently analyzed more than 5,000 hospitals in all 50 states and the District of Columbia for its 2007 ratings, objectively assessing their clinical outcomes and quality. The company used 40 million hospitalization records, which are available to the public and licensed from the federal government’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The HealthGrades ratings take into account varying degrees of patient severity from hospital to hospital and measure whether patient outcomes for each of more than two dozen procedures and diagnoses are better than expected (5-Star), as expected (3-Star) or worse than expected (1-Star). 

Read our press release.

To learn more about HealthGrades’ five-star rankings, visit www.healthgrades.com.