One of the Top 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals Nationally For 2022

St. Luke’s Named among Nation's 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals by Fortune and IBM Watson Health

Excellence of top cardiovascular hospitals points toward opportunities to potentially save thousands of additional lives and billions of dollars in costs.

St. Luke’s University Hospital in Bethlehem, PA, was today named as one of the nation’s top performing hospitals by Fortune magazine 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.

See Fortune magazine article here: Top 50 Cardiovascular Hospitals 2021: Fortune/IBM Watson Health | Fortune

“On behalf of St. Luke’s Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, I am proud to say this is affirmation of our commitment to excellence,” says Raymond Durkin, chairman of Cardiovascular Medicine, St. Luke's University Health Network. “Our attention to details such as clinical outcomes, patient experience and cost efficiencies have made us the market share leader in the region.”

“The organizations named to the list of IBM Watson 50 Top Hospitals are setting the national standards for high quality, efficient, patient-centered care for heart disease,” adds Donna Sabol, senior vice president and chief quality officer, St. Luke’s University Health Network. “This award reflects the hard work, dedication and commitment of the entire St. Luke’s cardiovascular team.  St. Luke’s advanced heart and vascular care services allow us to provide the most superior quality care close to home and across the region.”

This year's study included 951 U.S. hospitals with cardiovascular service lines. Compared to similar cardiovascular hospitals, this year’s winning hospitals had better results on indicators intended to measure clinical outcomes, operational efficiency, financial performance, and patient experience. Based on the methodology used by Watson Health, the study concludes that if all United States hospitals’ cardiovascular service lines performed at the level of these study winners, some 6,400 additional lives and roughly $1.4 billion could be saved, and 5,000 additional bypass and angioplasty patients could be complication-free.

“Despite the challenges of COVID-19, the hospitals recognized on the Fortune/IBM Watson Health 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals list are providing quality care in one of the most critical areas,” said Ekta Punwani, 100 Top Hospitals Program Leader, 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 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals 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.

Read more about St. Luke’s Heart & Vascular Center here: Superior Heart & Vascular Patient Care | Homepage | St. Luke's Heart & Vascular (slhn.org)

For list of winners, visit https://www.ibm.com/products/50-top-cardiovascular-hospitals.

Earlier this year, St. Luke's University Health Network was a winner of the 2021 15 Top Health System award, part of the Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals national benchmarks series in which St. Luke’s Bethlehem and Allentown campuses were ranked the #1 Major Teaching Hospital in the COUNTRY.