Fortune Names Intermountain McKay-Dee and Intermountain Medical Center Top Heart Hospitals

Fortune and Pinc AI has ranked Intermountain McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogden, Utah and Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, Utah as two of the nation’s Top 50 Cardiovascular Hospitals for 2024. This is the fourth consecutive year that Intermountain Medical Center has been named to the Fortune Top 50 list, and the first year for Intermountain McKay-Dee Hospital.

The report evaluates heart hospitals annually to determine facilities that are leading in providing high-quality, affordable heart care. This year Fortune and Pinc AI examined 940 hospitals across the nation and gauged performance based on metrics such as clinical outcomes (inpatient deaths and complications, as well as readmission and 30-day mortality rates), operational efficiency (average length of cost and stay), and overall patient experience. The rankings including teaching and community hospitals with and without cardiovascular residency programs.

These outcomes add up to meaningful differences.

According to the study’s analysis, if all hospitals operated at the level of this year’s top performers, there could be 7,600 fewer deaths due to heart disease, 6,700 fewer bypass and angioplasty patients who suffer complications, and more than $1 billion in inpatient costs could have been saved for the 2024 study year.

“This is a terrific honor to have our efforts to provide the highest-quality heart care to our patients be recognized by Fortune Magazine,” said Eric Lindley, MD, medical director of the cardiovascular program at Intermountain McKay-Dee Hospital. “Our goal is to provide the very best heart care to our patients close to home here in Northern Utah. We’re proud to have those efforts recognized nationally. That’s a credit to our entire team.”

“We’re thrilled to once again be recognized as one of premier heart hospitals in the nation,” said Stephen McKellar, MD, medical director for the cardiovascular program at Intermountain Medical Center. “Our focus is to provide the very best care and treatment options for our patients. The fact that two of our Intermountain hospitals are ranked among the Top 50 hospitals in the nation is a real honor and speaks to our commitment to our patients.”

The rankings focus on short-term, acute care, nonfederal hospitals that treat a broad spectrum of cardiology patients. Hospitals must provide all levels of cardiovascular care, including open heart surgery, to be included in the study.

According to the authors of the study, compared to peer hospitals, those in the 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals operated at lower cost and had better outcomes, recording significantly higher inpatient survival rates, fewer patients with complications, lower readmission rates and up to nearly $10,000 less in total costs per patient case. This analysis is based on Medicare patients included in this study. If the same standards were applied to all inpatients, the impact could have been even greater.

About Intermountain Health

Headquartered in Utah with locations in six states and additional operations across the western U.S., Intermountain Health is a nonprofit system of 33 hospitals, 385 clinics, medical groups with some 4,600 employed physicians and advanced care providers, a health plans division called Select Health with more than one million members, and other health services. Helping people live the healthiest lives possible, Intermountain is committed to improving community health and is widely recognized as a leader in transforming healthcare by using evidence-based best practices to consistently deliver high-quality outcomes at sustainable costs. For more information or updates, see https://intermountainhealthcare.org/news.