Kaweah Health is the only hospital in Central Valley named America’s 50 best for cardiac surgery

Visalia, CA – Kaweah Health Medical Center is one of three hospitals in California to receive Healthgrades’ America's 50 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Surgery™ for 6 Years in a Row (2018-2023) and the only hospital in the Central Valley to make the list, according to a new report released today by Healthgrades. The report also named Kaweah Health among the top 5 percent in the nation for overall pulmonary services and among the top 10 percent in the nation for critical care, according to the leading resource that connects consumers, physicians, and health systems.

“Our team is focused on excellence and works tirelessly to care for this community, and while what we do is not for the awards or the praise, it’s wonderful to see this team get recognized for the great work that they do,” said Gary Herbst, Chief Executive Officer of Kaweah Health. “To be named among some of the best hospitals in the nation is an honor and reflects the dedication and commitment our staff and physicians have for the care and well-being of our community.”

Kaweah Health’s outstanding clinical outcomes set it apart among the 4,500 hospitals across the nation in Healthgrades’ evaluation of patient mortality and complication rates for 31 of the most common conditions and procedures. This year’s analysis revealed significant variation in patient outcomes between America’s 50 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Surgery and hospitals that did not receive this distinction. From 2019-2021, patients treated at hospitals receiving the America's 50 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Surgery Award have, on average, a 56.0% lower risk of dying than if they were treated in hospitals that did not receive the award.*

For its superior clinical outcomes in heart bypass surgery and heart valve surgery, Kaweah Health is among the top 5 percent in the nation for cardiac surgery. Kaweah Health is the only California affiliate of the Cleveland Clinic, the No. 1 ranked heart program in the U.S. every year since 1995. Through this affiliation, physicians and staff from Kaweah Health and Cleveland Clinic collaborate to improve healthcare services and outcomes by implementing best practices and using data to improve care. Additionally, Kaweah Health offers a full range of cardiovascular services in partnership with local physicians, who can be found at KaweahHealth.org/heart

Kaweah Health is also among the top 5 percent in the nation for its superior clinical outcomes in treating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and pneumonia. It is in the top 10 percent in the nation for its superior clinical outcomes in treating pulmonary embolism, respiratory system failure, sepsis and diabetic emergencies.

Healthgrades recognizes a hospital’s quality achievements for cohort-specific performance, specialty area performance, and overall clinical quality. Individual procedure or condition cohorts are designated as 5-stars (statistically significantly better than expected), 3-stars (not statistically different from expected) and 1-star (statistically significantly worse than expected). In all, Kaweah Health received the following nine, 5-star ratings:

• Coronary Bypass Surgery for 7 Years in a row (2017-2023)
• Valve Surgery for 3 Years in a row (2021-2023)
• Treatment of Heart Failure for 3 Years in a row (2021-2023)
• Spinal Fusion Surgery in 2023
• Treatment of Stroke for 9 Years in a row (2015-2023)
• Treatment of Pneumonia for 10 Years in a row (2014-2023)
• Treatment of GI Bleed for 2 Years in a row (2022-2023)
• Treatment of Sepsis for 11 Years in a row (2013-2023)
• Treatment of Respiratory Failure for 5 Years in a row (2019-2023)

From 2019 through 2021, if all hospitals across the country performed similarly to five-star hospitals, on average, 201,586 lives could potentially have been saved, and 160,498 patients could have avoided potential complications.*

Healthgrades found that:

• Patients treated at hospitals receiving the Pulmonary Care Specialty Excellence Award have, on average, a 53.0% lower risk of dying than if they were treated in hospitals that did not receive the award.*
• Patients treated at hospitals receiving the Critical Care Specialty Excellence Award have, on average, a 29.4% lower risk of dying than if they were treated in hospitals that did not receive the award.*

“We commend Kaweah Health for their ongoing commitment to providing high-quality care to patients undergoing Cardiac Surgery,” said Brad Bowman, MD, Chief Medical Officer and Head of Data Science at Healthgrades. “Consumers can feel confident that America’s 50 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Surgery have demonstrated their ability to deliver consistently exceptional outcomes.”

Consumers can visitHealthgrades.com to learn more about how Healthgrades measures hospital quality and access a patient-friendly overview of the complete methodology here.

*Statistics are based on Healthgrades analysis of MedPAR data for years 2019 through 2021 and represent three-year estimates for Medicare patients only. Click here to view the complete 2023 Specialty Excellence Awards and Ratings Methodology.