For the third year in a row, UMass Memorial Medical Center is ranked the top
hospital in New England and in the top five in the nation - for surviving a
heart attack. In addition, Marlborough Hospital and HealthAlliance Hospital -
members of UMass Memorial Health Care - ranked second and fourth in the state,
respectively. The rankings are based on data from the Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services (CMS).
"We have been the perennial leader in New England since CMS began reporting
this data, and the region's only hospital consistently ranked among the top five
in the nation," said Robert Phillips, MD, PhD, director of the UMass Memorial
Heart and Vascular Center of Excellence and a senior vice president of UMass
Memorial Medical Center. "Patients and their referring physicians should have
enormous confidence in the care they receive here."
The latest rankings also mark the first time that any three hospitals in
Massachusetts are from the same health care system. "Being number two in the
state - and among the top 35 in the nation - says that high-quality care for
acute myocardial infarction can and is being provided in a community setting,"
noted John Polanowicz, president and CEO of Marlborough Hospital. "In large
part, this is because of the partnership between our hospital and UMass Memorial
Medical Center."
Cardiologist Paul Block, MD, cochair of the Critical Care Committee,
co-medical director of the Critical Care Unit and physician champion for heart
attack care at HealthAlliance Hospital, concurred. "This recognition objectively
validates that the cardiac care we provide is among the best of the best in
Massachusetts," he said. "We're proud to be part of a system that consistently
delivers this high level of care."
"The reason we are so successful in providing the best care for heart attacks
is that we have a highly integrated emergency activation system within Worcester
County, and a network of hospitals and providers that enables us to deliver
uniformly swift, lifesaving care," Dr. Phillips said. "That three of our
hospitals ranked in the top five in Massachusetts for heart attack survival
rates speaks to our commitment to providing excellent care that can be delivered
in a consistent, repeatable manner throughout UMass Memorial Health Care.
"We also have a very engaged and educated patient population that is well
aware of heart attack warning signs and knows to act quickly," Dr. Phillips
added.