January 26, 2008
At the heart of Kalamazoo, Borgess Medical Center (BMC) is saving lives and expertly treating cardiovascular problems. BMC’s Cardiovascular Lab is one of the most experienced in the Midwest. The medical center’s doctors have performed more than 16,500 heart surgeries.
In late 2007, Borgess Medical Center was named as one of the 100 Top Hospitals for Cardiovascular Care in the United States by Thomson Healthcare. It was the fourth time that BMC earned the recognition.
The recognition came as a result of the 2007 Thomson 100 Top Hospitals Cardiovascular Benchmarks for Success study, which examined the performance of nearly 1,000 hospitals. The study analyzed outcomes related to congestive heart failure, heart attacks, coronary artery bypass grafts, and percutaneous coronary interventions.
The study’s key findings were:
- If all cardiovascular hospitals achieved the same results as the 100 Top Hospitals, more than 7,000 lives would have been saved and nearly 750 medical complications would have been avoided annually.
- The top 100 hospitals had costs that averaged 13%—or about $2,000—less per case than peer hospitals.
- Compared to their peers, the 100 Top Hospitals performed nearly two-thirds more coronary artery bypass grafts and percutaneous coronary interventions such as angioplasty.
The study analyzed acute-care hospitals in the United States using detailed empirical performance data from publicly available 2005 and 2006 Medicare MedPAR data and 2006 Medicare cost reports.
Borgess was one of 30 teaching hospitals with cardiovascular residencies to make the list, and BMC was the only Merit Member named to the prestigious list. Merit Network provides a dedicated, high-speed connection to the hospital.
In 2007, Borgess Health joined the American Heart Association in an exclusive groundbreaking three-year partnership to highlight the association’s Start! southwestern Michigan initiative, Go Red For Women cause initiative, and will be the exclusive sponsor of southwestern Michigan Goes Red. These initiatives will educate area residents about heart disease, stroke and ways to lower their risk from these diseases that account for about 35 percent of all deaths in area counties.
Borgess Medical Center recently received full Cycle II accreditation with PCI (Percutaneous Coronary Interventions) as a Chest Pain Center from the Society of Chest Pain Centers. Borgess Medical Center is the only facility in southwest Michigan to earn that distinction and just the fourth in Michigan.
The medical center’s Borgess Heart Institute is an innovative leader in cardiac care. It includes a large, state-of-the-art cardiovascular laboratory that was one of the first in the U.S. to provide coronary angioplasty. All cardiac short stay rooms are private. Three surgical suites are dedicated to cardiac procedures.
Inpatient care features two cardiac critical care units and a fully monitored 48-bed care unit. The Borgess Heart Institute is also home to one of the first freestanding cardiac rehabilitation facilities in America. Cardiovascular Research, within the Borgess Research Institute, has helped develop improved coronary stents that are now used is 80 countries worldwide.
Tim Fischell, MD, Director of Cardiovascular Research for the Borgess Research Institute, has created scores of heart devices. A new internal monitoring device is being developed to alert patients and doctors of heart disorders before a heart attack occurs.
Borgess Medical Center (BMC) is a 424-bed teaching hospital linked with the Michigan State University Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies. BMC offers regional specialty treatment of the heart, brain and spine, vascular disorders and orthopedic care. Borgess Medical Center includes one of the largest open-heart surgery programs and busiest cardiovascular laboratories in the Midwest. For the fourth time, Borgess was recently named one of the nation’s 100 Top cardiovascular hospitals by Thomson 100 Top Hospitals.
BMC is a Level 1 Trauma Center and home to one of the few Neurological Intensive Care Units in Michigan. Borgess is southwest Michigan’s first certified Primary Stroke Center. More than 100 clinical trials are in progress through the Borgess Research Institute. Borgess has been a member of Merit Network since January 2001.