January 4, 2008

Mercy Medical Center—Des Moines announced today that it has been designated a UnitedHealth Premium Cardiac Specialty Center, reflecting national recognition of the cardiac care it provides. This is the second consecutive time that Mercy has been certified as a Premium Cardiac Specialty Center. The designation is valid for 2008 to 2009.

“We are honored to receive this designation, which validates our physicians, nurses and staff member’s commitment to delivering quality cardiac care to our patients every day,” said Mercy President & CEO Dave Vellinga. “We are committed to exceeding nationally recognized standards of care.”

The UnitedHealthcare Premuimsm program is designed to identify hospitals and specialists nationwide that are leading the way in providing quality cardiac care.  The program evaluates hospital’s capabilities—including their quality processes, adherence to evidence-based approaches, compliance with nationally recognized guidelines and their capabilities to handle cardiac treatment through a continuum of stages. The program also measures hospital efficiency by looking at the aggregate cost of care at an individual patient level for the complete episode.