[h2]Hospital’s heart program recognized among the best for the 10th time[/h2]

For the second consecutive year, and 10th time since 2001, Aspirus Wausau Hospital (AWH) has been selected as one of the 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals in the country by Truven Health Analytics, a leading health care data tracker. No other hospital in the state has been named to the 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospital list as many times as AWH.
“We are incredibly honored to be recognized for the tenth time by Truven Health Analytics as one of the nation’s 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals,” said Darrell Lentz, president of Aspirus Wausau Hospital. “To be one of only three hospitals in Wisconsin recognized as a national leader in cardiovascular care is truly an accomplishment.”
To determine the 50 top U.S. hospitals for heart care, Truven Health researchers analyzed 2011-2015 Medicare data and cost reports. Hospitals named to the 50 Top Hospitals list are considered to provide outstanding care and set new standards in excellence for cardiovascular care.

Specifically, the 2017 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals had:
• Significantly higher inpatient survival.
• Fewer patients with complications.
• Higher 30-day survival rates for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and heart failure (HF), and coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) patients.
• Lower readmission rates for AMI, HF, and CABG patients.
• Average lengths of stay for CABG patients that were one day lower.
•$1,200 to $6,100 less in total costs per patient case.

“Our outstanding cardiovascular team of physicians, nurses and other cardiac professionals deliver exceptional care to our patients when seconds count,” said German Larrain, MD, medical director of Aspirus Heart & Vascular. “This award signifies that our physicians and staff deliver excellent results with fewer complications and a shorter length of stay.”
According to Truven’s analysis, if all cardiovascular hospitals performed at the same level as the top 50 hospitals, more than 9,000 lives could be saved annually, over 6,000 heart complications could be avoided and more than $1.4 billion in health care spending eliminated. “Providing exceptional patient care is the foundation of our mission at Aspirus,” said Matthew Heywood, president and CEO of Aspirus, Inc. “This acknowledgment is a reflection of the hard work and commitment of our amazing caregivers to provide the highest quality cardiovascular care for the residents of north central Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.” Aspirus Heart & Vascular provides state-of-the-art cardiovascular services for the region. Aspirus is a Blue Cross Blue Shield Blue Distinction Center for heart care and consistently ranked by national quality benchmarking organizations as a leader in clinical quality and patient safety.

For more information on cardiovascular services please visit aspirus.org. For additional information on this study and 100 Top Hospitals research, please visit 100tophospitals.com.