Parkwest Named Among Top 50 Cardiovascular Hospitals in U.S.

 Parkwest Medical Center, a member of Covenant Health, has been named one of the nation’s Top 50 Cardiovascular Hospitals by Fortune/IBM Watson Health. The annual study identifies the top U.S. hospitals for inpatient cardiovascular services by using national performance metrics to identify facilities with the highest performing cardiovascular service lines. The study focuses on hospitals that offer both medical and surgical treatments for heart patients. Parkwest is the only hospital in Tennessee and one of only 10 community hospitals to receive the designation this year.

“We are honored to have been recognized by such prestigious organizations,” said Neil Heatherly, chief administrative officer at Parkwest Medical Center. “Our physicians and staff work tirelessly to provide excellent heart care, and this award truly recognizes their efforts. This designation is a celebration of Parkwest’s collective focus on establishing world-class cardiac programs to care for our community.”

Parkwest Medical Center’s cardiac services include top cardiologists and specially trained staff, advanced cardiac catheterization and electrophysiology facilities, newly constructed surgical suites, a comprehensive structural heart program and a multi-disciplinary cardiac rehabilitation program. Parkwest’s cardiac team is consistently recognized each year by the American Heart Association for excellent treatment of heart patients. Recent awards include the 2020 Silver Plus Award for stroke care and the 2020 Gold and Gold Plus Awards for STEMI care.

Parkwest’s long-standing cardiac program uses a collaborative team approach to treating patients. By working as a group, Parkwest physicians draw on their collective knowledge to treat patients with the highest standard of care. Whether a patient’s need is minimal or very complex, the combined expertise of a top-performing team contributes to successful outcomes.

In addition, the hospital has access to additional cardiology resources as a member of Covenant Health, the area’s largest comprehensive health system.

“We appreciate Covenant Health’s support in building an effective cardiac program in East Tennessee and the collaboration we have with other Covenant Health hospitals in the region,” Heatherly said.

About the Study  

The Top 50 Cardiovascular Hospitals study is part of the IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals program. This program selects the leading medical centers from among nearly 1,000 short-term, acute care, nonfederal U.S. hospitals that treat a broad spectrum of cardiology patients.

Using publicly available data, researchers evaluated 980 hospitals based on several key performance indicators such as clinical outcomes (including inpatient and 30-day mortality, medical complications, and 30-day readmission rates), average length of hospital stays, operational efficiency and patient experience. Researchers also reviewed four key areas of cardiac treatment: acute myocardial infarction (heart attack), heart failure, coronary artery bypass graft, and percutaneous coronary intervention. More information about the study is available at fortune.com.