Nov. 8, 1999

VCU’s MCV Hospitals named a top hospital for heart care services

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By Erin Lucero
Office of Development, School of Medicine

Virginia Commonwealth University’s Medical College of Virginia Hospitals has been named a 1999 Consumer Choice Award winner for heart care service. MCV Hospitals is the only Richmond-area hospital among the 124 hospitals named in the rankings, which were compiled by National Research Corporation and announced in today’s (Nov. 8) issue of Modern Healthcare.

"We particularly value this ranking because it is based on consumers’ assessments of how well we do our job," said Carl R. Fischer, chief executive officer of MCV Hospitals. "To be rated highly for our heart care service is very gratifying."

Winners were selected based on results from the 1999 NRC Healthcare Market Guide® study, in which 2,500 hospitals were rated by consumers from more than 170,000 households in the contiguous 48 states and the District of Columbia.

This is the fourth year that NRC has bestowed overall awards on hospitals, but the first time it has named top hospitals for specialty care services. According to NRC officials the company elected to honor facilities for specialty care in light of the increased role consumer choice is playing in the market place.

The hospital’s heart care award follows last month’s announcement that MCV Hospitals was among 126 hospitals named as NRC’s 1999 Consumer Choice Award winners, chosen by consumers as having the highest quality and image for overall health-care services. This year, MCV Hospitals and Bon Secours St. Mary’s Hospital were co-winners for the Richmond area, ranked in a statistical tie just as they were in 1996.

Founded in 1981, NRC specializes in health-care performance measurement. The 1999 Healthcare Market Guide® is the nation’s largest and most comprehensive study of its kind; no other study used to rate hospitals contains more consumer responses. The nationally syndicated study is conducted annually to compile consumer assessments of their health plans, personal physicians, local hospitals and health systems as well as their current health status. The study has a margin of error of ± 0.2 percent at a national level. Co-winners are named when scores fall within the statistical margin of error for a given market.