Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center and Hackensack University Medical Center, which are licensed by the New Jersey Department of Health for open heart surgery, have earned distinguished three-star ratings from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons for their patient care and exemplary outcomes in adult cardiac surgery.
The academic medical centers received three-star ratings in isolated coronary artery bypass grafting and isolated mitral valve replacement and repair surgeries. Jersey Shore University Medical Center also received a three-star rating in isolated aortic valve replacement surgery.
The three-star ratings, which denote the highest category of quality, places them among the elite hospitals for heart bypass, MVRR and AVR surgeries, respectively, in the U.S. and Canada. The STS star rating system is one of the most sophisticated and highly regarded overall measures of quality in health care, rating the benchmarked outcomes of cardiothoracic surgery programs across the U.S. and Canada. The rating is calculated using a combination of quality measures for specific procedures performed by an STS Adult Cardiac Surgery Database participant.
Approximately 20% of participants receive the three-star rating for isolated CABG surgery. The latest analysis of data for CABG surgery covers a three-year period, from July 2019 to June 2022, and includes 10 participating surgeons, collectively, at the medical centers. The latest analysis of data for MVRR surgery covers a three-year period, also from July 2019 to June 2022, and includes the 10 participants as well. Historically, an estimated 4 to 8% of participants receive a three-star rating for isolated AVR surgery. The latest analysis of data for AVR surgery covers a three-year period, from July 2019 to June 2022, and includes five participating surgeons.
“This is a welcome validation of the exemplary cardiac surgical care provided by our teams at Jersey Shore University and Hackensack University Medical Centers,” Elizabeth Maiorana, vice president, cardiovascular care transformation services, Hackensack Meridian Health, said. “The Society of Thoracic Surgeons’ three-star ratings are among the most prestigious quality indicators for hospitals providing open heart surgery.”
The STS National Database was established in 1989 as an initiative for quality improvement and patient safety among cardiothoracic surgeons. The database includes four components: the Adult Cardiac Surgery Database, the Congenital Heart Surgery Database, the General Thoracic Surgery Database and the Intermacs mechanical circulatory support database.
Hackensack University Medical Center in 2022 received the Mitral Valve Repair Reference Center Award, for the second consecutive time, from the American Heart Association and the Mitral Foundation for a demonstrated record of superior clinical outcomes resulting from evidence-based, guideline-directed degenerative mitral valve repair.
