Data is analyzed in groups

based on hospital size and teaching status.

"Our employees are the

true winners of this honor," said Robert Maynard, president and chief

executive officer. "Today, we are treating the sickest of patients,

and this distinction clearly demonstrates employee dedication to deliver

quality, efficient care."

Piedmont Hospital was founded

in 1905 as a 10-bed sanatorium. For the better part of a century, Piedmont

has grown with Atlanta and the community to set high standards by combining

the best professional staff with the most advanced technology.

Today, Piedmont Hospital is

a 500-bed acute tertiary care facility offering all major medical, surgical

and diagnostic services. Located on 26 acres in the heart of Buckhead,

Piedmont Hospital is a private, not-for-profit organization with 3,000

employees and a medical staff of more than 800 physicians.

As an analysis to identify

benchmark hospitals, the study revealed that if all U.S. acute care hospitals

were to perform at the level of the 100 Top Hospitals, approximately 57,000

lives could be saved annually and expenses could decline an estimated

$9.5 billion, resulting in lower health care costs and savings to Americans.

"Winners of the 100 Top

award are hospitals that are committed to constant performance improvement,

to bringing better services to their patients, their families and their

communities," said Jean Chenoweth, Solucient's executive director

of the 100 Top Hospitals program.

Other findings include:

The 100 Top Hospitals were

found to have more successful outcomes than their peers, providing complication-free

care 18 percent more often than peers and helping patients survive life-threatening

illness 10 percent more often than their peers.

The 100 Top Hospitals consistently

employ fewer staff, but pay hospital staff more -- nearly $2,000 more

per employee in annual salary and benefits -- than do peer hospitals.

Moreover, the benchmark hospitals tend to maintain higher ratios of registered

nurses, a more expensive resource, according to a recent related Solucient

study.

While the Southern and Central

Regions have the highest numbers of winners (31 and 29, respectively),

hospitals selected as 100 Top Hospitals in the Northeast jumped from only

15 winners last year to a total of 26 in the new study.

The study analyzed the nation's

hospitals using empirical performance data from the Medicare MEDPAR aggregated

claims database and other publicly available sources. This methodology

ensures that the focus is on statistical rather than anecdotal evidence

of top performance. The measures stress quality of care, efficiency of

operations and sustainability of overall performance, and are calculated

for five classes of hospitals:

Major teaching - 16 hospitals

Teaching - 25 hospitals

Large community, 250 or more

beds - 20 hospitals

Medium community, 100 to 250

Beds - 20 hospitals

Small community, 25 to 99

beds - 20 hospitals

Eight measures were used to

determine performance: risk-adjusted mortality index, risk-adjusted complications

index, severity-adjusted average length of stay, expense per adjusted

discharge, profitability, proportion of outpatient revenue, total asset

turnover ratio, and data quality.

Solucient is the leading source

of health care business intelligence. Its mission is to provide comprehensive,

results-oriented information to drive business growth, manage costs, and

deliver quality care.

Solucient's expertise and proven

solutions enable providers, payers, employers, and pharmaceutical companies

to achieve results and realize value. By bridging the gap between data

and information, knowledge and value, Solucient drives intelligent business

decisions. For more information, visit the Solucient Web site at www.solucient.com