Thomason Named Top 100 Hospital

In yet another step in its evolution into a University Medical Center, El Paso’s Thomason Hospital received national recognition this week when it was named one of America’s top 100 hospitals. The award recognizes hospitals that have achieved excellence in clinical outcomes, patient safety, financial performance, and efficiency. Thomason is the only El Paso hospital ever to make the list and one of just seven Texas hospitals to be recognized this year. This is the third time Thomason has been named a top 100 hospital.

“I am so very proud of and happy for our Associates and Medical Staff members,” says Ron Acton, Chair of the Board of the El Paso County Hospital District. “They are among the most talented and highly motivated professionals with whom I have ever had the pleasure to work. They deserve every accolade that comes their way, and this is a big one!”

The “2007 100 Top Hospitals: National Benchmarks for Success” study is done annually by Thomson Healthcare (formerly known as Solucient), a leading provider of information and solutions to improve the cost and quality of healthcare. Now in its 15th year, the primary goal of the 100 Top Hospitals: National Benchmarks for Success program is to help the nation’s hospitals improve their performance. Thomson objectively identifies hospitals that achieve the highest scores in the nation on a set of key measures that determine whether a hospital is a high performer clinically, operationally and financially.

Earning a 100 Top Hospitals National award is difficult — every year, only a handful of hospitals in each category qualify as one of the 100 winners. This year, the total number of hospitals eligible for the study was 3,018. The winners, by category, are listed below.

Thomason was compared with its peers in the “Teaching Hospital” category.
According to the study, the 100 Top Hospitals have higher survival rates, keep more patients complication-free, and attract more patients – all while maintaining financial stability. Thomson 100 Top Hospitals estimates that if all Medicare inpatients received the same level of care as those in the 100 Top hospitals:

• More than 120,000 additional patients would survive each year
• More than 138,000 patient complications would be avoided annually
• Expenses would decline by an aggregate of $6.2 billion a year
• The average patient stay would decrease by more than half a day

“This award reflects the tremendous amount of pride Thomason’s healthcare team takes in its work. They are committed to making a difference in peoples’ lives,” says Jim Valenti, President & CEO of the El Paso County Hospital District. “We continually challenge our Associates and Medical Staff members to raise the bar on performance, and they have met the challenge every time. This award clearly demonstrates Thomason’s on-going commitment to provide the highest quality care available in the region. Our goal is to exceed El Pasoans’ expectations.”
More information of the 100 Top Hospitals study and other research by Thomson is available at www.100tophospitals.com. For a copy of the report, please contact Thomson Healthcare at (800) 568-3282 or log on to www.100tophospitals.com.