NAPLES, Fla. – July 15, 2021 The NCH Heart Institute has once again earned a distinguished three-star rating from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) for its patient care and outcomes in isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) procedures (open heart surgery). The three-star rating, denotes the highest category of quality, and places NCH among the elite heart bypass surgical programs in the United States and Canada. This is the second year in a row that the NCH Heart Institute has earned the three-star rating.
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 United States and Canada. The star rating is calculated using a combination of quality measures for specific procedures performed by an STS Adult Cardiac Surgery Database participant.
“As the most experienced cardiac center in Collier County, NCH has been a leader in exceptional care for the hearts of our community for 25 years,” said Paul Hiltz, President & CEO, NCH Healthcare System. “We are honored to receive this three star rating from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons recognizing NCH cardiac physicians as being among the top in the nation.”
Historically, only approximately 5%–8% of participants receive the three-star rating for isolated coronary bypass surgery. The latest analysis of data covers a 1-year period from January through December 2020.
“NCH is committed to delivering the highest levels of quality outcomes along with an exceptional patient experience each and every time,” said Robert J. Cubeddu, MD, President of the NCH Heart Institute. “Because of this honorable distinction from STS, patients from around the nation have one more reason to rest assured knowing they are in safe hands at the Heart Institute when it comes to their cardiac care. I am most proud of my surgical colleagues for their relentless pursuit to provide world class care.”
“The Society of Thoracic Surgeons congratulates STS National Database participants who have received three-star ratings,” said David M. Shahian, MD, chair of the Task Force on Quality Measurement. “Participation in the Database and public reporting demonstrates a commitment to quality improvement in health care delivery and helps provide patients and their families with meaningful information to help them make informed decisions about health care.”
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 (ACSD), the Congenital Heart Surgery Database (CHSD), the General Thoracic Surgery Database (GTSD), and the mechanical circulatory support database (Intermacs). The STS ACSD houses approximately 7.4 million surgical records and gathers information from more than 3,800 participating physicians, including surgeons and anesthesiologists from more than 90% of groups that perform heart surgery in the US. STS public reporting online enables STS ACSD participants to voluntarily report to each other and the public their heart surgery scores and star ratings.
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