Two Sutter Hospitals Receive High Recognition for Cardiac Surgery Programs

SACRAMENTO, Calif., August, 2001 – Sutter Memorial Hospital in Sacramento and Summit Medical Center in Oakland were recognized for excellence in coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) clinical outcomes. Summit and Sutter Memorial are affiliated with Sutter Health, Northern California's not-for-profit network of physician organizations and hospitals.

The California CAB Mortality Reporting Program, a joint project of the Pacific Business Group on Health and the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, released the results for 1997-1998, the most recent data available, in a report to the public. Sutter Memorial and Summit were the only Northern California hospitals to receive this distinction.

The California CABG Mortality Reporting Program lists 79 hospitals and their observed vs. expected mortality when risks factors are taken into consideration. A primary goal of the study is to allow consumers or patients to choose hospitals that achieve good results.

In the report, each participating hospital's predicted or "expected" mortality rate for coronary artery bypass surgery is computed and the hospital is placed into one of three groups: "better than expected," "worse than expected" and "no different than expected." The performance of Summit and Sutter Memorial was judged to be better than expected. Marin General Hospital, also affiliated with Sutter Health, "is among the state's hospitals that perform a relatively small number of bypass surgeries and do it well," according to the Marin Independent Journal (August 3). Marin General's mortality was "as expected," according to the report. The calculations yield a high degree of statistical reliability. The Pacific Business Group on Health has posted detailed reports on its California Consumer HealthScope web site at www.healthscope.org.

"The outcomes data provides a level of information that helps doctors and patients understand the risks associated with cardiac surgery - because all procedures have some risk," said Forrest Junod, M.D., a cardiac surgeon and Medical Director of the Sutter Heart Institute in Sacramento. "This recognition from Pacific Business Group on Health affirms our commitment to excellence in cardiac care."

Participation in the survey was voluntary and 79 out of 118 hospital across the state that perform the CABG procedure reported their CABG mortality rates. The study tracks hospital performance, and does not track the performance of individual doctors. In all, the data set in the survey includes 30,814 bypass surgery cases, making it the largest public reporting program on CABG outcomes in the United States.