CANTON, Ohio (Nov. 21, 2016) Aultman Hospital was named one of the nation’s 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals by Truven Health Analytics,TM an IBM company.

The study, now in its 18th year, singled out 50 hospitals that achieved superior clinical outcomes in this critical area of hospital care. As is the case with the Truven Health 100 Top Hospitals® study, the rigorous processes used to calculate and measure hospital service lines leverage industry-leading, risk-adjusted methodologies developed and maintained by Truven Health scientists over many years. The 100 Top Hospitals study is widely regarded as the leading program for evaluating leadership impact in a hospital, as well as for evaluating quality indicators and efficiencies.

The Truven Health 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals study measures performance in key performance areas: risk-adjusted mortality, risk-adjusted complications, core measures (a group of measures that assess process of care), percentage of coronary bypass patients with internal mammary artery use, 30-day mortality rates, 30-day readmission rates, severity-adjusted average length of stay, and wage- and severity-adjusted average cost. The study has been conducted annually since 1999. This is the second consecutive year Aultman has been recognized with this honor.

“Our team is proud to be a Truven Health Top 50 Cardiovascular Hospital again this year,” said Aultman Heart Center Vice President Ryan Jones. “We appreciate the hard work and dedication of all of the physicians, clinicians and caregivers within our organization that made this recognition possible.”

To determine the 50 top U.S. hospitals for heart care, Truven Health researchers analyzed 2014 and 2015 Medicare Provider Analysis and Review (MedPAR) data, 2015 Medicare cost reports and second-quarter 2016 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospital Compare data.

The winning hospitals were announced in the Nov. 7, 2016, edition of Modern Healthcare magazine.

The study, and subsequent analysis of the positive variances these leading cardiovascular service hospitals show, indicate an opportunity for a broader national impact for cardiovascular patients, should these results be replicated. In fact, if all cardiovascular providers in the U.S. performed at the level of this year's winners:

• Nearly 9,000 additional lives could be saved 
• Nearly 6,000 more heart patients could be complication-free 
• More than $1.4 billion could be saved

More information on this study and other 100 Top Hospitals research is available at 100tophospitals.com.