Moreover, U.S. hospitals also potentially could avoid an estimated 5,000 inpatient deaths annually, reduce related complications by 36 percent and lengths of stay by 10 percent, and discharge 22 percent more people to their homes rather than to nursing homes. Moreover, this is among the first-ever naming of the 100 hospitals that have set the benchmarks for stroke care. Separate benchmarks were developed for teaching hospitals with neurology residency programs, teaching hospitals, and community hospitals. And by naming the hospitals that have set performance benchmarks, we hope the underlying clinical care and system differences will be identified and shared throughout the industry.
Stroke is an especially troubling and costly life-threatening emergency.
It is the third leading cause of death, killing an estimated 160,000 Americans annually. And given the demographics of an aging U.S. population, incidence of stroke is likely to increase. In many of the 100 Top Hospitals, formation of stroke treatment teams and community education are focal-points for improving treatment results. The 100 Top Stroke Hospitals treated twice as many stroke patients as peer hospitals. The 100 Top Hospitals studies provide the benchmarks for performance set by the nation's health care institutions.