[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 158 (Tuesday, November 4, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2208-E2209]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  HONORING ROCHESTER GENERAL HOSPITAL

                                 ______
                                 

                     HON. LOUISE McINTOSH SLAUGHTER

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 4, 2003

  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to pay special tribute to 
the Rochester General Hospital located in Rochester, New York, a 526-
bed Center of Excellence within the boundaries of the 28th 
Congressional District of New York. The hospital, which is home to the 
Rochester Heart Institute, is New York's fourth largest cardiac center, 
providing complete diagnostic services, medical, invasive, and non-
invasive treatment, three progressive levels of cardiac rehabilitation 
and state-of-the-art cardiothoracic surgery.
  This year, the century-old teaching hospital has been named a 2003 
Solucient 100 Top Cardiovascular Hospital. Although the hospital has 
received this designation three previous times, the 2003 distinction is 
especially meaningful, as it is one of only two hospitals in New York 
State so distinguished.
  The fifth annual study, Solucient 100 Top Hospitals Cardiovascular 
Benchmarks for Success--2003, used publicly available data, 
statistically adjusted for illness levels, to track performance in 
seven key cardiology/cardiac surgery areas. Specifically, hospitals 
that cared for at least 20 cases in each of the four categories of 
acute myocardial infarction (heart attack), congestive heart failure, 
angioplasty (PTCA) and coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) were 
rated by the seven following indicators: procedure volume, risk-
adjusted medical mortality, risk-adjusted surgical mortality, risk-
adjusted complications index, percentage of CABG patients with internal 
mammary artery use, severity-adjusted average length of stay, and wage 
and severity-adjusted average cost.
  Rochester General Hospital's designation as one of America's Top 100 
Cardiovascular Hospitals is particularly important to health care 
consumers. The aforementioned study concluded that facilities found 
worthy of this distinction consistently outperform their peers, 
especially in terms of mortality and complication rates. This specific 
achievement is evidence that the skilled performance and excellent 
outcomes in cardiovascular services at Rochester General Hospital of 
Rochester, New York have propelled the hospital to the top one per cent 
of acute-care hospitals in the United States of America.
  It is indeed my great privilege, as the elected Representative of the 
28th Congressional

[[Page E2209]]

District of New York, to formally honor Rochester General Hospital of 
Rochester, New York, for having achieved excellence in the area of 
heart care, as an integrated source for patient cardiovascular needs, 
from prevention and education to diagnosis, treatment and recovery.

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