Moon Township, PA, (March 18, 2011) – Heritage Valley Beaver’s Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery program recently received the highest quality rating, three stars, from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) for outcomes related to isolated coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) from July 2009 to June 2010. Historically, 12 to 15 percent of hospitals receive the “three-star” rating during a given time period and Heritage Valley Beaver was among that group for this period.
The Society of Thoracic Surgeons developed a comprehensive rating system that allows for comparisons of quality of cardiac surgery among hospitals across the country. The "three-star" composite score for Isolated CABG is based on eleven NQF (National Quality Forum) measures which are divided into four domains:
- Avoidance of operative mortality
- Avoidance of major morbidity
- High quality intraoperative care as measured by use of IMA (internal mammary artery)
- Appropriate medication usage
“The STS three-star rating is an indicator of the high-level of quality cardiac surgical care that is available at Heritage Valley Beaver,” said Alexander Vasilakis, M.D., F.A.C.S, director of cardiovascular and thoracic surgery at Heritage Valley. “Since the inception of our program 17 years ago, we’ve monitored the surgical outcomes of the program to ensure that we’re providing the best care in our communities.”
Cardiovascular and thoracic surgery is one of the core services available through Heritage Valley’s Heart & Vascular Center which offers comprehensive cardiac care including diagnostic and interventional cardiology, electrophysiology, VeinCare, vascular surgery, cardiac computed tomography (CT) and cardiac rehabilitation services.
