U.S. News names Tulane Medical Center high-performing hospital

Tulane Medical Center has been recognized as a 2018-19 High-Performing Hospital by U.S. News & World Report for its treatment of two of the region’s most serious health concerns – chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and heart failure.

This designation is part of the publication’s annual Best Hospitals rankings, which evaluates more than 5,000 hospitals nationwide. The Best Hospitals methodologies include objective measures such as patient survival, the number of times a given procedure is performed, infection rates, adequacy of nursing staff and more.

“We recently partnered with our medical staff to set a goal of achieving Best Hospitals Honor Roll status for an academic medical center, representing the pinnacle in quality care, patient safety and reputation,” said Dr. William Lunn, president and CEO of Tulane Health System. “There has been tremendous work already to build and improve processes, elevate our quality of care and better validate the amazing work provided at Tulane’s campuses every day.

“These recognitions are evidence we’re on the right track. I’m proud of the work we’re doing and even prouder of the skilled, compassionate teams who are doing it.”

Last year, only 14 percent of hospitals nationwide were named high performing in COPD and 18 percent high performing in heart failure. Tulane Medical Center is the only hospital in the New Orleans region to be named high performing in the treatment of COPD.

Heart failure occurs when the heart muscle is weakened and cannot pump enough blood to adequately meet the body's needs for blood and oxygen. About 5.7 million adults in the United States have heart failure, and the condition is a contributing cause in one in nine deaths.

Tulane Health System offers a comprehensive heart failure management program that includes diagnosis, medication, treatment and communication initiatives, with the overall goal of improving patients’ quality of life while minimizing the need for hospitalization. Tulane has also been recently honored for other aspects of its cardiovascular program, as it was named an Aetna Institute of Quality for its cardiac rhythm program and named a Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus Achievement Award with Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus winner by the American Heart Association for three years in a row.

COPD includes emphysema, chronic bronchitis and other diseases that cause breathing problems. Nearly 16 million Americans have been diagnosed with COPD.

Tulane Health System, with generous support from the Dorney-Koppel Foundation, recently developed the Grace Anne Dorney Pulmonary Cardiac Rehabilitation Center, a dedicated, multidisciplinary unit focused on providing treatment for conditions like COPD.

To learn more about Tulane Health System and its services, please visit Tulane Healthcare.