Texas Heart® Institute at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital
Ranked Among Nation’s Top Heart Centers for
17th Consecutive Year
HOUSTON (July 13, 2007)—In its annual survey of “America’s Best Hospitals,” U.S.News & World Report has ranked the Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital as one of the top 10 centers for heart and heart surgery in the United States for the 17th consecutive year. St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital was also ranked among the top 50 hospitals in eight other major areas of care.
“For 45 years, the Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke’s has maintained a strong commitment to excellence in research, education and patient care,” said Denton A. Cooley, MD, president and surgeon-in-chief of the Texas Heart Institute, and chief of Cardiovascular Surgery at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital. “To receive this honor consistently since the inception of the ‘America’s Best Hospitals’ rankings is extremely gratifying.”
Ranked at number seven this year, the Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke's is the only heart center in Houston and the Southwest to be listed among the top ten in its category by the magazine.
“The physicians, scientists and staff have led Texas Heart Institute to a position of world leadership through their efforts to prevent and treat cardiovascular disease. Their passion, vision and dedication are encouraged by this continued recognition,” said James T. Willerson, MD, president-elect and medical director of Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke’s.
Dr. Willerson is also president of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Dr. Willerson noted that, on a 1 to 100 scale, the Texas Heart Institute is within three points of being in the top five heart centers and within five points of being in the top three.
The annual rankings, determined through criteria such as surgical volume, ratio of registered nurses to beds, number of medical and surgical discharges and recognition by peers, are designed to assist people in seeking the highest level of skills in diagnosing, treating or managing difficult medical conditions.
For its rankings, U.S. News evaluated 5,642 hospitals. Only 173 of those met the standard of being among the best in one or more specialties. The magazine evaluated hard data, engaged in physician surveys and considered patient outcomes, and then recognized the 50 top scoring hospitals in each category it reviewed. For more information about the rankings, log on to U.S. News Online, www.usnews.com/besthospitals.
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The Texas Heart Institute, founded by world-renowned cardiovascular surgeon Dr. Denton A. Cooley in 1962, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing the devastating toll of cardiovascular disease through innovative and progressive programs in research, education and improved patient care. Together with its clinical partner, St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, it has been ranked among the top ten cardiovascular centers in the United States by U.S.News & World Report’s annual guide to “America’s Best Hospitals” for the past 17 years. Texas Heart Institute is also affiliated with The University of Texas (UT) System, which promotes collaboration in cardiovascular research and education among UT and THI faculty at the Texas Heart Institute and other UT components.
St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System comprises the flagship St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital in the Texas Medical Center, founded in 1954 by the Episcopal Diocese of Texas; St. Luke’s Community Medical Center–The Woodlands; St. Luke’s Episcopal Health Charities, a charity devoted to assessing and enhancing community health, especially among the underserved; and Kelsey-Seybold Management, LLP, overseeing 18 area clinic locations. St. Luke’s Sugar Land Hospital is under construction, scheduled to open in 2008. St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital is home to Texas Heart Institute, founded in 1962 by Denton A. Cooley, MD, and is consistently ranked among the top 10 cardiology and heart surgery centers in the nation by U.S.News & World Report. Affiliated with several nursing schools and two medical schools, St. Luke’s serves as the primary adult teaching hospital for Baylor College of Medicine. St. Luke’s was the first hospital in Texas named a Magnet hospital for nursing excellence, and the Health System has been recognized by FORTUNE as among “100 Best Companies to Work For” and by Houston Business Journal as a top employer in Houston.
