U.S. News & World Report Names Frye Regional Medical Center a High Performing Hospital for Challenging Heart and Lung Conditions

HICKORY, NC (November 15, 2022) – Frye Regional Medical Center, a Duke LifePoint hospital, has been named a 2022-2023 High Performing Hospital for Heart Attack, Heart Failure and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) by U.S. News & World Report, the global authority in hospital rankings and consumer advice. This is the highest award a hospital can earn for U.S. News’ Best Hospitals Procedures & Conditions ratings.

The annual Procedures & Conditions ratings are designed to assist patients and their doctors in making informed decisions about where to receive care for challenging health conditions or elective procedures.

Frye Regional Medical Center earned the High Performing Hospital ratings for Heart Attack, Heart Failure and COPD in recognition of care that was significantly better than the national average, as measured by factors such as patient outcomes.

“Frye Regional is dedicated to providing high quality care for our patients,” said Philip Greene, MD, the current chief medical officer of Frye Regional Medical Center and incoming chief executive officer, effective November 28. “Recognition on a national level is exciting news for our doctors and staff – but exceeding the expectations of the patients we are privileged to serve is a goal we focus on every day. These rankings are a direct reflection of our team’s commitment to great patient outcomes and our mission of Making Communities Healthier.”

For the 2022-2023 Best Hospitals rankings and ratings, U.S. News evaluated more than 4,500 hospitals across 15 specialties and 20 procedures and conditions. Fewer than half of all hospitals received any High Performing rating, and only four earned this rating in all procedures and conditions. State and metro area rankings reflect the highest performing hospitals in the area across multiple areas of care.

“When patients are considering their options for care, the Best Hospitals ratings are designed to help them identify hospitals that excel in the kind of care they may need,” said Ben Harder, chief of health analysis and managing editor at U.S. News. “A hospital that’s earned a High Performing rating in a service may be a good option for patients in need of that service and their medical professionals to consider.”

The U.S. News Procedures & Conditions methodology is based entirely on objective measures of quality such as survival rates, patient experience, and how successfully each hospital helps patients get back home. For more information, visit Best Hospitals.

“We’re so proud of our entire team for their work in achieving this top ranking for our heart and lung programs,” said Brett Starr, MD, medical director of cardiovascular and thoracic surgery at Frye Regional and a Duke faculty member. “This designation as a High Performing Hospital, along with other national accolades, provides further validation of what we all know to be true – our doctors and staff are dedicated to a comprehensive team approach to provide a higher level of care for our patients and community.”

The Frye Regional Heart Center is the first Duke Health heart affiliate in western North Carolina. Backed by the resources of Duke Heart, Frye Regional has access to current Duke training and staff education, evidence-based guidelines, and quality initiatives when it comes to heart and heart-related issues. Frye Regional is the only comprehensive heart and lung center offering a full array of both interventional and surgical capabilities in the Catawba Valley region, providing 24/7 access to interventional cardiology, electrophysiology, pulmonology, and cardiovascular and thoracic surgery.

The Heart Center team performs more than 4,500 heart caths and other interventional procedures per year. In 2021, over 250 life-saving heart and lung surgeries were performed at Frye Regional, close to home.

The hospital is also an accredited Chest Pain Center with PCI (Percutaneous Coronary Intervention) by the American College of Cardiology. Accredited Chest Pain Centers are designed to enhance patient care by decreasing the time to treatment for heart attack.

To learn more, visit https://www.fryemedctr.com/heart-care.