Salem Hospital was honored in IBM Watson Health™ 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals. It was the only Oregon hospital to make the list in 2018, previously receiving the award in 2015.

"Our care wasn’t rated great – it was rated superior,” says Cheryl Wolfe, Salem Health CEO. “Our partnership with local cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, vascular surgeons and interventional radiologists, combined with dedicated, highly skilled staff, enabled us to achieve this honor.”

Cardiovascular care, the focus of the IBM Watson Health™ 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals study, affects hundreds of thousands of patients annually and adds billions of dollars to our nation’s overall health care costs. The goal of compiling the list is to help health care organizations focus their improvement initiatives to move toward consistent, sustainable, high-quality performance. Organizations do not apply for the selection process, and award winners do not pay to market their honor.

Compared to non-winning cardiovascular hospitals, the 2018 winners had:

• Significantly higher inpatient survival.
• Fewer patients with complications.
• Higher 30-day survival rates for acute myocardial infarction, heart failure and coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) patients.
• Lower readmission rates for AMI, HF and CABG patients.
• Lower average lengths of stay for CABG, AMI, HF and percutaneous coronary intervention patients.
• Lower total costs per patient case.
• Lower average 30-day episode of care payments for AMI and HF.

According to the study, if all cardiovascular providers in the US performed at this level, nearly 10,000 additional lives would be saved each year.

In November, Salem Health’s excellence in cardiovascular care was highlighted in an announcement that it had successfully implanted the world’s smallest pacemaker at its state-of-the-art catheterization lab.

“I can’t even feel it, and the process of getting ready took far longer than the surgery itself,” said patient Ruth Bisset of Salem, the morning after her implant. “Many people were praying for me, and I felt a tremendous sense of peace going into surgery. I feel great.”

In 2018, Salem Health has plans to continue its focus on improving the health of the community, not only through patient care, but by sponsoring heart-healthy events like the High Street Hustle and providing community grants to organizations like Marion-Polk Food Share.

About Salem Health: Salem Health offers exceptional care to people in and around Oregon’s mid-Willamette Valley. It comprises hospitals in Salem and Dallas, a medical group of primary and specialty care providers, plus other affiliated services. Visit us at www.salemhealth.org; “Like” us on www.facebook.com/salemhealth; follow us on Twitter: @salemhealth; and view us at www.youtube.com/salemhealth.