CHI St. Vincent Named to National Top 50 List for Cardiovascular Care

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Feb. 19, 2026) — CHI St. Vincent Infirmary has been named one of the nation’s 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals® according to an independent quality analysis based on a balanced scorecard provided by Premier, Inc. and published by Modern Healthcare. The Infirmary was ranked 12th for teaching hospitals without a residency program. CHI St. Vincent Infirmary was the only Arkansas hospital named to the 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals list.

To create the list, an objective, quantitative analysis of publicly available data was conducted to identify the top cardiovascular hospitals in the United States. The primary purpose of the 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals program is to provide data-driven benchmarks that hospital leaders can use to better understand performance variation and improve care for heart patients nationwide. Hospitals do not apply to participate in the study, and recognized organizations do not pay to market this distinction.

“CHI St. Vincent has always been a leader in cardiovascular healthcare in Arkansas,” said Dr. William G. Jones, President at CHI St. Vincent Infirmary. “To see our cardiac teams recognized on a national level like this is truly special. My congratulations and deep gratitude go to all of the doctors, nurses, leaders and everyone on the cardiovascular care teams who come to work every day to make a big difference for our patients.”

Compared to peer hospitals, those in the 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals delivered better results across all 21 measures, including clinical outcomes, operational efficiency, extended outcomes and patient experience.

Key national performance observations include:

• Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) inpatient mortality showed a 56-percent difference in index value between benchmark and peer hospitals (0.43 vs. 0.99, respectively).
• In complication measure results for the two surgical patient groups (CABG and Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI)), the PCI group outperformed the CABG group by a 10 percent difference (31.4 percent vs. 21.4 percent, respectively).
• The CMS Care Compare 30-day mortality measure for CABG patients had the largest difference between benchmark and peer hospitals (16 percent), with index values of 2.1 vs. 2.5, respectively.
• Average cost per case showed the most notable difference in the heart failure patient group, with a 19.6 percent difference ($9,859 vs. $12,264, respectively).

These outcomes add up to meaningful differences. According to the study’s analysis, if all U.S. hospitals’ cardiovascular service lines performed at the level of this year’s 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals, the impact could include over 14,000 additional lives potentially saved, more than 27,000 additional bypass and angioplasty patients experiencing fewer complications, and over $2.0 billion in potential savings.

“Cardiovascular care is one of the most complex and impactful service lines in healthcare,” said David

Zito, President of Performance Services at Premier. “The 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals program highlights organizations delivering strong outcomes while providing hospital leaders with meaningful benchmarks to help improve care.”

The 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals study is based on quantitative research that uses a balanced scorecard approach, based on publicly available data, to identify the top cardiovascular hospitals in the U.S. The program focuses on short-term, acute care, nonfederal U.S. hospitals that treat a broad spectrum of cardiology patients. It includes patients requiring medical management, as well as those who receive invasive or surgical procedures. Because multiple measures are used, a hospital must provide all forms of cardiovascular care, including open heart surgery, to be included in the study. Each patient group is mutually exclusive by design.

About CHI St. Vincent

CHI St. Vincent is a regional health network serving Arkansas since 1888 with a history of many firsts. Headquartered in Little Rock, the network includes primary care, specialty clinics, urgent care, hospitals, home health, rehabilitation and surgery centers across the state. U.S. News & World Report ranks CHI St. Vincent as No. 1 in Central Arkansas for cardiology, heart and vascular surgery, and as “high performing” in multiple areas, including abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, aortic valve surgery, colon cancer surgery, heart bypass surgery, pacemaker implantation, spinal fusion and transcatheter aortic valve replacement. CHI St. Vincent is part of CommonSpirit Health, a nonprofit Catholic health system dedicated to advancing health for all people. Learn more at commonspirit.org/stvincent.