St. Luke’s Boise and Meridian Medical Centers
Named Top Hospitals for Cardiovascular Care

St. Luke’s is the Only Idaho Health Provider to Make the List

St. Luke’s Boise and Meridian Medical Centers’ cardiovascular care is ranked in the top 100 nationwide, according to a survey released this week by Thomson Reuters.

St. Luke’s is the only Idaho Health System – and only one of three hospitals in the Northwest – to be featured in the 2009 Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospitals: Cardiovascular Benchmarks for Success list.

“This is the fourth year St. Luke’s has been recognized for its high level of cardiovascular care,” said St. Luke’s Boise/Meridian CEO Gary Fletcher. “Such an accomplishment is a direct reflection on the professionalism and dedication of our physicians and caregivers who give their best every day to assure St. Luke’s provides the best possible care.”

St. Luke’s Boise/Meridian was also named a top cardiovascular hospital in 2008, 2002 and 2003.

The study, now in its 11th year, examined the performance of 971 hospitals by analyzing outcomes for patients with heart failure and heart attacks and for those who received coronary bypass surgery or percutaneous cardiovascular interventions (PCI) such as angioplasties. The study found that the 100 Top Hospitals cardiovascular winners have:

• 17 percent lower mortality rates for heart attack patients.
• 10 percent lower mortality rates for heart failure patients.
• 27 percent lower mortality for bypass surgery patients.
• 22 percent lower mortality following PCI.
• Fewer postoperative complications 99 percent of patients were complicationfree.
• Close to 12 percent shorter average hospital stay.
• 12 percent lower cost per case.

The study also found that the top performing hospitals perform more than 50 percent more cardiac surgeries than peer hospitals.

"These hospitals provide balanced high performance across cardiovascular services,” said Jean Chenoweth, senior vice president for performance improvement and 100 Top Hospitals programs at Thomson Reuters. “This means they are providing high quality and highly efficient services at a reasonable cost in comparison to peers across the United States."

St. Luke’s has a long history of providing cardiovascular care. In 1968, Dr. Rodney Herr performed Idaho’s first openheart surgery at St. Luke’s.

Today, St. Luke’s has collaborative relationships with top cardiologists, and cardiothoracic and vascular surgeons under the umbrella of St. Luke’s Heart, which Fletcher says have directly attributed to the high level of cardiovascular care available to patients at St. Luke’s.

St. Luke’s Heart now does more cardiovascular procedures than any other hospital in the state and consistently ranks well above the national averages in cardiovascular performance measures.

St. Luke’s Heart has the state’s only accredited chest chain pain centers in Idaho, and earlier this year the centers at both Meridian and Boise were reaccredited by the Society of Chest Pain Centers.

Chest pain centers are housed in both emergency departments at Boise and Meridian. The centers allow for highly coordinated care for patients with chest pain, which has allowed St. Luke’s to dramatically reduce the treatment time for heart attack victims.

“Until we successfully reduce heart disease as the nation’s No. 1 killer, we want people to know that when the disease strikes, you can be confident St. Luke’s will be here to deliver the best cardiovascular care possible,” Fletcher said.

About St. Luke's Health System
St. Luke’s Boise and Meridian Medical Centers are part of St. Luke’s Health System – Idaho’s largest and only locally controlled health care system employing more than 7,600 people. With hospitals in Boise, Meridian, Ketchum and Twin Falls, St. Luke’s provides patients with unmatched care in specialized medical fields including cancer, heart and vascular, obstetrics, women’s services and children’s health care. In 1968, heart surgeons at St. Luke’s performed Idaho’s first open heart surgery. Today, St. Luke’s Heart continues a 40year tradition with the latest in cardiac and vascular care delivered by the region’s top cardiologists and cardiothoracic and vascular surgeons. In 2009, Thomson Reuters named St. Luke’s as one of the country’s top 100 hospitals.

About Thomson Reuters
Thomson Reuters is the world's leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals. We combine industry expertise with innovative technology to deliver critical information to leading decision makers in the financial, legal, tax and accounting, healthcare and science and media markets, powered by the world's most trusted news organization. With headquarters in New York and major operations in London and Eagan, Minnesota, Thomson Reuters employs more than 50,000 people and operates in over 100 countries. Thomson Reuters shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: TRI) and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: TRI). For more information, go to www.thomsonreuters.com