Data Advantage, LLC, based in Nashville, Tenn., analyzed 4,500 U.S. hospitals to determine the top 100. The organization recently revealed its findings through the 2009-2010 Hospital Value Index, a first and only national study on hospitals and the value of the care provided.

“We work hard to provide high quality patient care at the best possible value. In today’s economy that’s not easy. All of our departments work very well together to achieve this goal and I congratulate our hospital family for the Top 100 honor. They truly are committed to every aspect of patient care,” said Ronald L. Violi, Wheeling Hospital chief executive officer.

Wheeling Hospital was the only local hospital to make the top 100 list, which included hospitals from nearly every state. The only other hospitals in West Virginia to make the list are United Hospital Center in Clarksburg and Greenbrier Valley Medical Center in Ronceverte. The states with the most hospitals achieving Top 100 Best in Value recognition were: New York, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Alabama and North Carolina.

"These are the hospitals that set the bar for the nation when it comes to value. If every hospital performed at the level of the Top 100, we found that more than $60 billion per year could be saved," said Hal Andrews, Data Advantage CEO.

"The Hospital Value Index winners are a geographically diverse group of hospitals that have a proven ability to deliver high value care to their communities and represent a model of care that other U.S. hospitals should look to," Andrews said. "As legislators consider health reform, we believe that it will be increasingly important to recognize and reward those hospitals that deliver outstanding value."

These results are part of the findings from the 2009-2010 Hospital Value Index study, an analysis of the value of care provided at more than 4,500 U.S. hospitals. As part of the release, Data Advantage is inviting hospitals and health care leaders to participate in the Voices of Value Summit in Chicago Dec. 7-9. Industry leaders will discuss topics such as value, affordability, efficiency and patient satisfaction.

Data Advantage, LLC, is a privately owned health care information company that specializes in providing hospitals and other health care-related businesses with independent and objective business intelligence. The company has aggregated and compiled a warehouse of the most insightful information about health care utilization and maintains comprehensive benchmarks about the financial, operational and clinical performance of the U.S. hospital industry.

Wheeling Hospital, founded in 1850, has served the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia, eastern Ohio and parts of Pennsylvania longer than any other hospital in West Virginia. The acute care facility has 276 beds, and the medical staff totals 230 primary care and specialty physicians. It employs nearly 2,400 people.