McALLEN — Three Valley hospitals were named among the best in the country in cardiology and women’s services.
McAllen Heart Hospital was recognized as one of the best 50 hospitals in the country for cardiac surgery and one the best 100 for cardiac care and coronary intervention while McAllen Medical Center and Edinburg Regional Medical Center were both given five-star ratings for quality excellence in women’s services. The three hospitals are owned by South Texas Health System.
The hospitals received the recognition by Healthgrades Operating Company, Inc. which provides information about hospitals, doctors and health care providers nationwide.
“The clinical team, hospital administration and your patients should all be proud,” said Meredith Payne, a senior director at Healthgrades. “McAllen Heart was the only hospital in the Rio Grande Valley to be named one of America’s 100 best hospitals for cardiac care and only one of two hospitals in the entire state of Texas to be named one of America’s 50 best in cardiac care.”
Carlos Giraldo, an intervention cardiologist at McAllen Heart, said the small team of cardiologists strived to treat their patients like family by providing solid care.
“Recognition like this is important because it shows that we are doing something right, we’re making a difference,” Giraldo said. “Really we’re here to take care of our community, serve our community, and we try and do it in a manner where we practice solid evidence-based care so recognition like this is rewarding for all of us.”
“We annually evaluate nearly 5,000 hospitals nationwide in 33 of the most common inpatient procedures and conditions,” Payne said.
As part of their recognition in women’s services, McAllen Medical Center and Edinburg Regional received five stars in gynecologic surgery and, for the third year in a row, five stars in vaginal and C-section deliveries.
Thiendela Diagne, an OB-GYN at Valley Care Clinics, which is part of Edinburg Regional, said they were working on quality initiatives such as decreasing the rates of C-sections and said he hoped to have the lowest C-section rate in the Valley by next year.
“I’ve been in South Texas for five years and I’ve seen a lot of change,” Diagne said. “I’ve seen commitment from our administration and from our staff; we have turned many things around and I am proud to be part of this team.”
