Sarasota Memorial Hospital Among Top 50 U.S. Heart Hospitals

SARASOTA, FL — Sarasota Memorial Hospital was included on a list of top 50 cardiovascular hospitals in the United States by Watson Health. The list names the top-performing U.S. hospitals for inpatient cardiovascular services, according to a news release from the hospital.

Sarasota Memorial was the only Suncoast hospital that made the 2021 list, which is based on quality indicators and clinical outcomes for Medicare patients who received heart care in 2018 and 2019.

More than 7,000 lives could be saved and more than 5,000 heart patients could be complication free if all hospitals performed at the level of Sarasota Memorial and the other top 50 award winners, the Watson Health study reported.

The news release said that compared to similar cardiovascular hospitals, this year's 50 top cardiovascular hospitals winners demonstrated:

• Better survival rates
• Fewer patient complications
• Fewer healthcare associated infections
• Lower 30-day mortality and readmission rates
• Shorter lengths of stay
• Lower inpatient expenses

Watson Health conducts the annual quantitative research using the latest available Medicare data to identify the nation’s highest-performing hospitals and health systems for:

• Heart attacks (acute myocardial infarction)
• Heart bypass surgery (coronary artery bypass graft)
• Cardiac catheterization procedures (percutaneous coronary intervention)
• Heart failure

This is the second top hospital award Watson Health has given to Sarasota Memorial this year and one in a series dating back to 2002, the news release said. In June, Watson Health named Sarasota Memorial a 100 Top Hospital for overall quality and safety. Hospitals do not apply for the honor, and winners do not pay to market it.

The release of the 2021 Fortune/IBM Watson Health 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals list also spotlights hospitals that currently participate in the American Heart Association's Get With The Guidelines (GWTG) programs, which promote evidence-based guidelines and improved patient care. SMH is one of just 19 hospitals on this year's 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals list to receive the additional recognition by the AHA for top-notch cardiovascular care.

“I could not be more proud of our cardiac team and entire staff,” David Verinder, Sarasota Memorial Hospital CEO, said. “From physicians and nurses to therapists, technologists and support staff, they work diligently every day to deliver high-quality patient care and continue to serve our community in unprecedented ways during this pandemic.”

Watson Health based its analysis on publicly available data from nearly 1,000 acute care, non-federal U.S. hospitals that treat a broad spectrum of cardiology patients.