Aspirus Wausau Hospital named among top cardiovascular hospitals
For the Wausau Times
WAUSAU – Aspirus Wausau Hospital (AWH) was named as one of the nation’s top performing hospitals by Fortune and IBM Watson Health.
The annual Fortune/IBM 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals study spotlights leading short-term, acute care, non-federal US hospitals that treat a broad spectrum of cardiology patients. The study is designed to identify impartial, actionable, and attainable benchmarks for hospital and clinical leaders as they work to raise their own organizations’ standards of performance in cardiac care.
“This award exemplifies Aspirus’ profound commitment to providing advanced, high-quality cardiovascular care throughout Northcentral Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan,” said Jeffrey Wicklander, SVP/president of Aspirus Wausau Hospital. “Our patients have the confidence of knowing they are being cared for by highly trained and experienced cardiovascular specialists devoted to delivering the best outcomes possible.”
The study included 980 U.S. hospitals with cardiovascular service lines. Based on comparisons between the study winners and a peer group of similar hospitals in the study, the winners delivered better outcomes while operating more efficiently and at a lower cost.
“Extrapolating the results of this year’s study, if all Medicare inpatients received the same level of care as those treated in the award-winning facilities: more than 7,000 additional lives could be saved; more than 5,000 heart patients could be complication-free; more than $1.6 billion in inpatient costs could be saved,” an Aspirus release stated.
“With more than 120 million American adults living with some form of cardiovascular disease, cardiovascular services are among the most critical in healthcare,” said Ekta Punwani, 100 Top Hospitals program lead, IBM Watson Health. “Hospitals are constantly working to improve clinical and operational performance, and the exceptional organizations on this list demonstrate the standard for top performing cardiac care. Their benchmarks serve as a real-world checkpoint for cardiovascular care across the U.S.”
The annual report highlights the top-performing cardiovascular hospitals in the U.S. based on a balanced scorecard of publicly available clinical, operational, and patient satisfaction metrics and data.
The winning hospitals were announced in Fortune. For more information, visit https://www.ibm.com/watson-health/services/100-top-hospitals.