Hackensack Meridian Health’s Jersey Shore University Medical Center and Hackensack University Medical Center, licensed by the New Jersey Department of Health for open heart surgery, have been recognized by the American College of Cardiology for their demonstrated expertise and commitment in treating patients receiving transcatheter valve repair and replacement procedures. They achieved Transcatheter Valve Certification based on evaluation of their teams’ ability to meet standards for multidisciplinary teams, formalized training, shared decision-making and registry performance.
Transcatheter aortic valve replacement, or TAVR, is a minimally invasive procedure that replaces a diseased aortic valve with a man-made valve. It is used to treat aortic stenosis, a narrowing of the aortic valve that can increase strain on the heart and lead to heart failure. TAVR is provided to patients at just 18 hospitals in New Jersey, including Hackensack University Medical Center and Jersey Shore University Medical Center.
The ACC’s Transcatheter Valve Certification is an external review and certification process that pairs with established national clinical databases to monitor patient safety and real-world outcomes related to transcatheter valve therapies. Participation in established national clinical databases such as the STS/ACC TVT Registry is required for hospitals interested in achieving Transcatheter Valve Certification.
“Hackensack Meridian Health has demonstrated its commitment to providing New Jersey with excellent heart care,” Dr. Deepak Bhatt, chair of the ACC Accreditation Management Board, said. “ACC Accreditation Services is proud to award Hackensack University Medical Center and Jersey Shore University Medical Center with Transcatheter Valve Certification.”
The certification uses established national clinical measures to support clinical decisions and links process improvement to patient outcomes. Hospitals that achieve Transcatheter Valve Certification learn best practices for implementing evidence-based medicine to support patient-centered decision-making and can track key performance metrics to better identify opportunities for improvement.
“Our academic medical centers with open-heart surgery programs, Jersey Shore University and Hackensack University medical centers, are dedicated to providing their patients with the best, most advanced cardiac care,” Elizabeth Maiorana, vice president, cardiovascular care transformation services, Hackensack Meridian Health, said. “I’m proud of the cardiac teams’ efforts to collaborate on extremely complex cases to provide every patient, no matter their challenging conditions, with high-quality, compassionate and life-saving care.”
Earlier this year, Hackensack Meridian Health announced a $45 million construction project at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, to be completed in late 2024. It will create a new, dedicated cardiovascular services suite, including 10 mixed-use interventional, electrophysiologic and structural heart disease laboratories to meet the community’s growing needs. Hackensack University Medical Center cardiologists provide services in the state-of-the-art “smart hospital,” surgical and intensive care tower Helena Theurer Pavilion, which opened in 2023.
