BANGOR — According to data published by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in February, Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor achieved the lowest readmission ratio for patients with a heart attack between July 1, 2020, and June 30, 2023.
Rates of readmission for heart attack are reported to CMS, which tracks and evaluates national trends, as part of the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program. They also track coronary artery bypass graft surgery, heart failure, pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and hip/knee replacement. Readmission ratios are determined by dividing a hospital’s predicted rate of readmissions with the expected rate, based on the average rate of hospitals with similar patient populations.
Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center stands out as the national top-performing hospital for heart attack readmissions with a ratio of 0.7224, indicating a significantly lower rate of heart attack readmissions than other healthcare institutions. Memorial Mission Hospital and Asheville Surgery Center in North Carolina follows with a ratio of 0.7663, and Mayo Clinic Hospital in Rochester, Minnesota, ranks third at 0.7853.
Alan Jansujwicz, MD, Northern Light Cardiology, one of the key contributors to this achievement, notes, “It takes a collaborative effort by multi-disciplinary teams to achieve such impressive results. It’s gratifying to see the teamwork and dedication by our hospitalists, nurses, care managers, pharmacists, informatics specialists, home health professionals and cardiology to support our patients.”
Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center works to ensure their patients aren’t readmitted for the same condition by adhering to the highest quality standards in management of heart attacks. This can include early recognition, and treatments including stent procedures and bypass operations. Care teams create clear plans after discharge, sharing patient and family education, explaining medications, and scheduling follow up care.
Christopher Lang, MD, Northern Light Cardiology, adds, “This recognition is a reflection of the outstanding care we provide on a daily basis. Our commitment to maintaining high-quality performance across multiple quality metrics is evident, and we will continue to strive for excellence in our service line.”
We want to encourage patients to actively engage in their post-discharge care by seeking clarification from their hospital care team before leaving the facility and discussing their hospitalization and recovery with their primary care provider during follow-up appointments to minimize the risk of readmission and ensure optimal health outcomes.
