As the region's only academic medical center, we are leading the way in bringing new services, treatments and technology to you and your family. Nothing is more important to us than delivering quality care and our record shows it.

• Albany Med Receives National Recognition for Exemplary Outcomes from the American College of Surgeons
  The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP®) has recognized Albany Medical Center as one of 28 ACS NSQIP participating hospitals in the United States that have achieved exemplary outcomes for surgical patient care. The hospital was commended for achieving exemplary outcomes in the general cardiac and general pneumonia categories. Albany Medical Center is one of only three hospitals in New York State to receive this recognition.

• Albany Med Receives Advanced Certification for Heart Failure From Joint Commission
  Albany Medical Center was awarded the prestigious Advanced Certification in Heart Failure from the Joint Commission by demonstrating compliance with national standards for health care quality and safety. Created in collaboration with the American Heart Association, the program evaluates patient care in the inpatient setting, and thoroughly assesses the coordination of care, including transition to outpatient heart failure—taking into consideration factors such as compliance with national standards, assessment, monitoring, management, and performance improvement. Albany Med is one of only two hospitals in the state to have earned this certification.

• Albany Med Physicians Named U.S. News and World Report’s “Top Doctors”
  Forty-one Albany Med physicians were named  "Top Doctors" by U.S. News and World Report -- including seven doctors who were ranked in the top 1% in the nation in their specialty. "U.S. News Top Doctors" were recommended for their clinical skills by other doctors and individually vetted by a physician-led research team.

• Albany Medical Center Ranked #1 in Market by U.S. News & World Report
  Albany Med has been ranked first in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy area in U.S. News & World Report’s "America’s Best Hospitals 2011-2012." In addition, 10 specialties at Albany Med were listed as “high performing” including: cancer; diabetes and endocrinology; ear, nose and throat; gastroenterology; geriatrics; gynecology; nephrology; neurology and neurosurgery; orthopedics; and urology.

• Albany Med Recognized for Outstanding Quality in Stroke Care
  Albany Medical Center has received the American Heart Association/Stroke Association’s highest distinction possible—Get With The Guidelines-Stroke (GWTG-S) Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award. To receive the award, a hospital must achieve 85 percent or higher adherence to all GWTG-S quality achievement indicators for at least two years, and must achieve 75 percent or higher compliance with six of 10 quality measures. These measures include aggressive use of treatments, such as clot-dissolving drugs like tPA, and risk-reduction therapies to prevent a second stroke such as antithrombotics, anticoagulation therapy, drugs to prevent deep vein thrombosis, cholesterol reducing drugs and smoking cessation, all aimed at reducing death and disability and improving the lives of stroke patients.

• Albany Med Earns Joint Commission’s “Gold Seal of Approval”
  Albany Medical Center Hospital earned The Joint Commission’s "Gold Seal of Approval" for accreditation by demonstrating compliance with the organization’s national standards for health care quality and safety in hospitals. The accreditation award recognized Albany Med’s dedication to continuous compliance with The Joint Commission’s state-of-the-art standards.
  
  The hospital underwent a rigorous unannounced on-site survey late last year. A team of Joint Commission surveyors evaluated the hospital for compliance with standards of care specific to the needs of patients, including infection prevention and control, leadership and medication management.

• Cancer Services Receives Accreditation
  Albany Medical Center has received three-year accreditation "with commendation" for its cancer services from the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer. Accreditation by the commission means that it has confirmed that the hospital meets its stringent quality standards for cancer care, including a complete range of state-of-the-art services and equipment, a multidisciplinary team approach to coordinate the best available treatment options, information about ongoing cancer clinical trials and new treatment options, patient access to prevention and early detection programs, cancer education and support services, a cancer registry that offers lifelong patient follow-up, and ongoing monitoring and regular improvements in cancer care.

• Top 50 in Cardiothoracic Surgical Groups
  Albany Medical Center's division of cardiothoracic surgery has been listed among the top 50 cardiothoracic surgical groups rated by Consumer Reports Magazine. The ratings, based on information from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS), compare how individual surgeon groups fare compared with national standards for survival, complications and other measures.

• Federal Government honors Albany Med for Kidney Transplant Survival Rates
  Albany Medical Center's kidney transplant program has been recognized for its successful patient survival rates with a  silver medal from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Service Administration (HHS/HRSA). Of 260 kidney transplant programs in the U.S., Albany Med's program was one of only six to receive this honor. The awards were based on patient and transplanted organ survival, deceased donor transplantation rates and waitlist mortality for patients on the transplant waiting list.

• Physician Practice at Albany Med Earns Maximum Accreditation from AAAHC
  The physician practice at Albany Medical Center, a group of over 300 physicians, has received three-year accreditation from the Accreditation Association of Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC). Three years is the maximum (highest) accreditation awarded by the AAAHC and signifies that the practice has met or exceeded nationally recognized quality standards in its services and facilities.
  
  To earn accreditation from AAAHC, the largest accrediting organization for ambulatory (outpatient) health care, facilities undergo and extensive on-site survey conducted by outside physicians, nurses and health care administrators, as well as rigorous self-assessment. AAAHC accreditation is recognized as a symbol of quality by third party payers, medical societies, and government agencies. They physician practice at Albany Med is the only physician group in our region to undergo this independent accreditation process.

• Albany Med Named one of Nation's "Top 50" Cardiovascular Hospitals
  Albany Medical Center was named one of the nation's top 50 cardiovascular hospitals in a study released by Thomson Reuters, a national health research firm. The study noted that the Medical Center was one of just 15 teaching hospitals in the country with cardiovascular residency programs to earn this prestigious award. Now in its 12th year, the study for the first time, singled out 50 hospitals rather than its traditional practice of naming 100 winners. According the Thomson Reuters, the study examined the performance of 1,022 hospitals by analyzing outcomes for patients with heart failure and heart attacks and for those who received coronary bypass surgery and percutaneous coronary interventions such as angioplasties.

• Albany Med Lauded for Outstanding Clinical Quality in Stroke, Heart Attack and Heart Failure
  Albany Medical Center has been recognized by the American Heart Association/Stroke Association for leading the nation in following evidence-based guidelines for patients with heart failure, coronary artery disease and stroke. By receiving the Gold Performance Achievement Award in all three categories, Albany Med becomes one of only two hospitals in New York State, and one of 13 in the nation, to receive this distinction under the American Heart Association/Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines (GWTG) program.
  

• Albany Medical Center Cited in U.S. News & World Report’s ‘Best Hospitals’ Rankings
  Albany Medical Center has been ranked as one of the nation’s best hospitals in the specialty of gynecology. The rankings were reported this month in U.S. News & World Report’s America’s Best Hospitals 2009 issue.
  
  Albany Med placed #45 in the nation in the category of gynecology. Out of 5,000 hospitals studied for the magazine overall, only 174 (about 3 percent) placed in the Top 50 lists in 16 specialty categories. The survey took into account such factors as reputation, death rate, patient safety and care-related factors such as nursing and patient services.
  

• Hospital Collaboration Improves Care for Saratoga County Stroke Patients
  Saratoga Hospital, Albany Medical Center Join Forces to Speed Stroke Evaluation, Treatment
  Saratoga Hospital announced a collaboration agreement with Albany Medical Center to speed and enhance the evaluation and treatment of stroke patients from the Saratoga Region—and to give them faster access to cutting-edge treatments at Albany Medical Center, when appropriate.
  
  The two hospitals will be linked electronically, allowing emergency physicians at Saratoga Hospital and stroke specialists at Albany Medical Center to view patient scans simultaneously, in real time, and consult on the best course of treatment. This will streamline the process for identifying those who need advanced care, will get them to Albany Medical Center more quickly, and will help speed treatment once they arrive there.

• Albany Med’s Cardiovascular Services Named on National Top 100 List
  Albany Medical Center is one the top 100 U.S. hospitals for cardiovascular care, according to a study released by Thomson Reuters, a national health research firm.
  
  According to Thomson Reuters, its annual study—100 Top Hospitals: Cardiovascular Benchmarks—examined the performance of 971 hospitals by analyzing outcomes for patients with heart failure and heart attacks and for those who received coronary bypass surgery or percutaneous cardiovascular interventions (PCI) such as angioplasties. The study identifies “the cardiovascular hospitals that set the highest national performance levels for both clinical and managerial excellence.”
  

• Albany Med’s Coronary Care Unit Earns Beacon Award for Critical Care Excellence
  Albany Medical Center’s Coronary Care Unit has received the Beacon Award for Critical Care Excellence, an award given by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN). The award is specifically designated to recognize the nation’s top pediatric, progressive, and adult critical care units across a multitude of hospitals. The recognition represents extraordinary commitment to high-quality critical care standards, and dedication to the exceptional care of patients and their families.
  

• Albany Medical Center’s Bariatric Surgery Program Earns Highest Accreditation Status
  Albany Medical Center’s bariatric surgery program has been reaccredited as a "Level 1a" facility by the Bariatric Surgery Center Network (BSCN) Accreditation Program of the American College of Surgeons (ACS). Albany Med’s program is one of only 11 in New York State, and the only program in the Capital Region, to earn this status—the highest level of hospital achievement in bariatric care.
  
  Level 1a designation means that Albany Medical Center is fully capable of supporting a bariatric surgery care program and that its institutional performance meets the requirements outlined by the ACS BSCN Accreditation Program, including managing the most challenging and complex patients with optimal opportunity for safe and effective outcome. Level 1a status is often awarded to centers with a high volume of patients.
  

• Albany Med Lauded for Third Consecutive Year for Outstanding Clinical Quality in Heart Failure and Coronary Artery Disease
  Albany Medical Center has been recognized by the American Heart Association/Stroke Association for leading the nation in treating patients with heart failure and coronary artery disease using the latest scientific guidelines. This is the third consecutive year that Albany Med has received the Gold Performance Achievement Award under the AHA/ASA’s Get With The Guidelines (GWTG) program.
  
  Albany Med has distinguished itself among other hospitals by achieving more than 85 percent compliance to core standard levels of care in these areas outlined by the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology.
  

• Albany Medical College Receives Top Accreditation for Continuing Education for Doctors
  Albany Medical College has been awarded Accreditation with Commendation—the highest level of accreditation—for providing continuing medical education (CME) to physicians. It is one of just 10 percent of accredited providers to receive this top honor from the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME). ACCME rigorously evaluates CME programs to ensure their activities meet the highest standards.
  
  "Continuing professional development is linked to quality outcomes, insuring that the patients served by participating physicians get the highest level of care," said Henry Pohl, M.D., vice dean for academic administration at Albany Medical College.
  

• Postoperative High Blood Sugar Appears to Be Associated With Surgical Site Infection
  High blood glucose levels after surgery may be an important risk factor for infection at the surgical site in patients having general surgery, according to a report in the September 2010 issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals authored by Ashar Ata, M.B.B.S., M.P.H., and colleagues at Albany Medical College.
  
  Surgical site infection accounts for 14 percent to 17 percent of hospital-acquired infections, making it the third most common type of infection acquired at health-care facilities and the most common among patients having surgery, according to background information in the article. "Studies have shown that these infections prolong the hospital length of stay after surgery, increase re-hospitalization rates and dramatically increase the use of emergency services and health care costs," the authors write.
  

• Albany Med Again Receives Stroke Center Certification from Joint Commission
  Albany Medical Center has once again been awarded the Primary Stroke Center Certification from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations (JCAHO), and has earned the organizations Gold Seal of Approval for being a JCAHO accredited institution with an advanced certification in stroke care. The Medical Center is one of only 13 health care institutions in New York State to hold this distinction.
  
  With this certification, the Joint Commission has reconfirmed that Albany Meds multi-disciplinary team approach to stroke care leads to better outcomes for our patients, said Gary L. Bernardini, M.D., Ph.D., director of stroke and neurocritical care and professor in neurology and neurosurgery at Albany Med. I am honored to work with the physicians and staff at Albany Med who work diligently to uphold the standard of care our patients expect and deserve.
  

• New York Hospitals Make Progress in Lowering Rates of Infections
  State's Third Annual Report on Hospital-Acquired Infections Notes Reduced Rates for Central-Line Blood Stream Infections and Two Types of Surgical Site Infections
  New York's hospitals continue to make significant progress in reducing infections patients may acquire in hospitals, according to the third annual report on Hospital-Acquired Infections issued today by the New York State Department of Health (DOH).
  
  The report, which presents 2009 rates for select hospital-acquired infections by hospital name and New York region, found that the rate of central-line associated blood stream infections has fallen 18 percent since 2007. The rates of surgical site infections related to colon surgery and cardiac by-pass surgery fell by 11 percent and 14 percent, respectively, for the same period.
  
  "New York's hospitals have continued to increase the safety of patients as a result of the sharing of information made possible by the State's hospital-acquired infections reporting system, as well as targeted prevention initiatives supported by the State in collaboration with hospitals," said State Health Commissioner Richard F. Daines, M.D.
  
  For example, Albany Medical Center, which serves the most severely ill patients in the Capital region, significantly reduced central-line associated bloodstream infections in its pediatric intensive care unit, reporting zero infections of this type in 2009.
  

• Albany Med Named National Consumer Choice Award Winner
  Albany Medical Center is the only hospital in northeastern New York to be honored with a Consumer Choice Award based on a recent survey of consumers conducted by the National Research Corporation (NRC) 12 years in a row. The survey identifies hospitals which healthcare consumers said had the highest quality and image in more than 300 markets throughout the United States, according to Ginny Martin, president of NRC’s Healthcare Ticker study.