LI hospitals show lower death rates for heart surgeries, angioplasties, state report says

Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park had significantly lower death rates than the state average for heart surgeries and North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset had significantly lower mortality rates for angioplasties, according to the latest state statistics.

The state Department of Health last week released an annual report that looked at death and readmission rates in coronary artery bypass surgeries and valve surgeries from 2010-2012 among the state's 40 hospitals and the individual surgeons who do them. In a separate report published at the same time, it also looked at deaths and readmissions from angioplasties among the 60 hospitals and the doctors performing them for the same period.

LIJ was one of two hospitals statewide in which the death rate for 2010-2012 bypass, valve surgeries or combination valve and bypass surgeries was significantly lower statistically.

And North Shore was one of four hospitals statewide in which the death rate for angioplasties -- in which a thin tube with a tiny balloon is inserted to open up clogged arteries -- in the same period was significantly lower statistically. It was also the only hospital in the state with significantly better outcomes statistically for just emergency angioplasties.

"We did great," said Dr. Stanley Katz, senior vice president and executive director of cardiovascular services at the North Shore-LIJ Health System. Katz said the data are "the most accurate available," but "the disappointment is that it's three years behind."

Four of the other five LI hospitals that do valve or bypass surgery had risk-adjusted mortality rates that were lower than the state average for the three years, but the differences were not statistically significant. These included North Shore, Southside Hospital in Bay Shore, Winthrop-University Hospital in Mineola and St. Francis Hospital in Roslyn. Stony Brook Hospital had a rate higher than the state average, but, again, the difference was not statistically significant.

The risk-adjusted death rates for just bypass surgery in 2012 among all of the six LI hospitals were lower than the state average but not statistically significant.

Readmission rates -- how often someone had to return to the hospital after surgery because of a complication -- for bypass surgery among the six hospitals in 2012 tended to be higher than the state average but only Winthrop's rate was statistically significantly higher.

In a statement, Dr. Scott Schubach, chairman of the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery at Winthrop, said that a higher readmission rate "did not translate to less successful outcomes.. . . However, we have taken significant steps to improve our coronary artery bypass readmission rates since that time."

Eight of the 10 LI hospitals that performed angioplasties over the three-year period had lower death rates than the state average but North Shore was the only one that was significantly lower statistically. In 2012, six of the 10 hospitals had lower death rates than the state average.

In readmissions, both Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center in West Islip and Stony Brook had significantly higher rates.

Dr. Patrick M. O'Shaughnessy, chief medical officer for Catholic Health Services, of which Good Samaritan is a member, said in a statement that "to further reduce readmission rates, CHS has implemented a variety of new processes."