Contact: Jennifer Amundson, 612-672-4165

October 15, 2007 (MINNEAPOLIS) -- University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview ranks seventh in quality and safety among U.S. academic medical centers, according to the University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC), which compared 82 centers.

UHC is an alliance of academic medical centers and affiliated hospitals with a vision for accelerating the achievement of clinical and operational excellence. It represents more than 90 percent of the nation’s non-profit academic medical centers.

UHC Vice President Mark A. Keroack, MD, MPH, noted the medical center “has broken into the top 10 (#7) among the 82 academic medical centers ranked. This is also a big improvement from last year’s rankings (29) and bigger still if you consider that everyone’s scores have been improving.” This is the second year of this ranking, a composite index of quality and safety. The measurement period was third quarter of 2006 through second quarter of 2007.

The scoring is based on safety, mortality, effectiveness and equity of care for inpatients, as follows:

· Safety—Organizations were compared in 10 areas: death in expected low-mortality cases, failure to rescue, lung collapse, selected infections due to care, complications following surgery for hip fracture and pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis (blood clot), accidental puncture or laceration, injuries related to C-sections and two categories of injury to mother during birth.

· Mortality—This measurement compared actual to expected deaths. The medical center has consistently had very low mortality levels, ranking third best in the nation.

· Effectiveness—Surgery infection prevention was measured. The medical center reports excellent infection prevention in acute myocardial infarction (heart attack), heart failure and pneumonia.

· Equity—The effectiveness measurements were reviewed from the standpoint of patients’ gender, race and socioeconomic status.

“Comparison among our peer academic centers is one of the best measurements of the success of our work to provide excellent care for our patients. These 82 centers are among the finest medical centers in the world,” says Gordon Alexander, MD, medical center president. “This ranking is a reflection of the collaboration of all of our staff and our physician partners from the University and from the community."

Susan Noaker, PhD, the medical center’s senior director of quality and patient safety, also attributes the ranking change from 29th to seventh to the sustained efforts of many. “We have strong performance improvement teams whose members pour a huge amount of work into looking for and achieving change, especially in acute myocardial infarction, pneumonia and heart failure. We have an attitude that – even though we provide excellent care – we always strive to improve. It’s energizing for our clinicians because it’s for our patients’ well-being.”

The UHC cited five key attributes of “high performers,” those ranking in the top 10:

· Shared sense of purpose

· Leadership style

· Accountability systems

· Focus on results

· Culture of collaboration

University of Minnesota Medical Center was among the top 10 organizations listed on a report card given to attendees a the UHC’s Fall Quality and Safety Forum last week.