ASHEVILLE, N.C. (May 22, 2014) – Mission Heart has received a “3 Star” rating from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) for its Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG) surgery, placing it once again in the top tier of heart surgery centers across the United States that perform such procedures.
A 3 Star rating is the highest category of quality and designates that bypass surgery results are statistically better than the national mean. Mission Heart has received this top honor 13 times since the star rating system began in 2006. Hospitals that score below average receive one star; those in the average rating receive two stars; and programs that score significantly above average – approximately 12 percent of nearly 1,000 surgical groups in the U.S. that perform cardiac surgery – receive the top-tier rating of three stars.
“This top rating from the STS is regarded by clinicians as the gold standard by which cardiac surgery programs are evaluated and we are honored to again receive this designation,” said Stephen W. Ely, PhD, MD, Section Chair for Cardiac Surgery at Mission Heart. “This recognition signifies that our patients consistently receive exceptional care from one of the most advanced cardiovascular care centers in the nation.”
Mission Heart’s 3 Star rating is derived from data compiled and publicly reported during 2013. The STS’s comprehensive rating system compares the quality of CABG surgery in terms of survival rates, the absence of complications and other key measures.
“Mission Heart and our distinguished team of cardiothoracic surgeons, other physicians, nurses and caregivers continue to be ranked among the top surgical heart programs in the country, affirming our position as a national leader in cardiovascular surgery,” said Jill Hoggard Green, COO of Mission Health and President of Mission Hospital and Mission Medical Associates. “This achievement recognizes Mission Health’s commitment to quality and improved patient outcomes and provides further evidence of the high-quality care we provide to the people of western North Carolina.”
The STS Adult Cardiac Surgery Database includes more than 4 million cardiothoracic surgical records, making it the largest such registry in the world. The current data analysis for which this 3 Star rating is based is the period from January 1, 2013 through December 31, 2013.
About Mission Health
Mission Health, based in Asheville, North Carolina, is the state’s sixth-largest health system and the region’s only not-for-profit, independent community hospital system governed and managed exclusively in western North Carolina. Mission Health has been recognized as one of the nation’s Top 15 Health Systems 2012-2014 by Truven Health Analytics, formerly Thomson Reuters. Mission Health is the only medium-sized health system to receive this recognition three years in a row, and the only health system in North Carolina to achieve that distinction.
Mission Health, which traces its roots in the region back to 1885, operates six hospitals, numerous outpatient and surgery centers, post-acute care provider CarePartners, and the region’s only dedicated Level II trauma center. Its medical staff consists of more than 1,000 physicians and is certified in more than 50 medical specialties and sub-specialties. Mission Health has seven Centers of Excellence: Cancer, Heart, Mission Children’s Hospital, Neurosciences, Orthopedics, Trauma and Women’s Health. Mission Hospital, located in Asheville, is the system’s flagship hospital and is licensed for 795 beds. It is the regional referral center for tertiary and quaternary care. It also includes Mission Children’s Hospital – the region’s only children’s hospital. Other Mission Health member hospitals include Angel Medical Center in Franklin, Blue Ridge Regional Hospital in Spruce Pine, Highlands-Cashiers Hospital in Highlands, McDowell Hospital in Marion and Transylvania Regional Hospital in Brevard. With approximately 10,600 employees and 2,000 volunteers, Mission Health is dedicated to improving the health and wellness of the people of western North Carolina. For more information, please visitmission-health.org or @MissionHealthNC.
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