HCA New England Healthcare’s two leading cardiac care providers have earned the top rating from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) for patient care and outcomes in bypass surgery and in a new multi-procedure category. The STS is a non-profit organization representing cardiac professionals worldwide to help ensure the best possible outcomes in heart, lung, esophagus and other surgical procedures in the chest.
Catholic Medical Center and Portsmouth Regional Hospital were both awarded the distinguished three-star rating from The STS for patient care and outcomes in isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) procedures, also known as bypass surgery.
Both hospitals also received three-star rating from STS in its new multi-procedural category. The recognition is based on a composite metric encompassing the most common adult cardiac procedures, providing the most comprehensive information about overall program performance.
The three-star rating, which is the highest possible quality rating, places the hospitals among the elite for heart bypass surgery in the U.S. and Canada.
CMC has received three-star ratings for bypass surgery twice annually since 2018 and Portsmouth has received three-star ratings twice annually since 2023.
“This recognition from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons reflects the dedication of our entire medical and clinical team to delivering outstanding patient care,” said Dr. Benjamin Westbrook, cardiothoracic surgeon at Catholic Medical Center. “With nearly 40 years of experience in cardiac care, CMC continues to set the standard. To have the quality of our work consistently recognized on a national level is both an honor and a reflection of the excellence our patients can expect.”
“We are proud to once again have our exceptional patient care and outcomes recognized with the three-star ratings from an organization that is dedicated to patient safety and surgical excellence,” said Robert Helm, MD, chief of cardiovascular surgery at Portsmouth Regional Hospital. “This would not be possible without the entire cardiac surgery team’s commitment to providing world-class care and compassionate patient experiences."
Bypass surgery is used to treat coronary artery disease and improves blood flow to the heart. During the procedure, a healthy artery or vein is taken from another part of the body and joined, or grafted, to the obstructed coronary artery. The grafted artery or vein bypasses the blocked portion of the coronary artery, allowing the new channel to detour oxygen-rich blood to the heart muscle.
The STS star rating system is one of the most sophisticated and highly regarded overall measures of quality in healthcare, rating the benchmarked outcomes of cardiothoracic surgery programs. The star 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 bypass surgery. The latest analysis of data for bypass surgery covers a three-year period, from January 2022 through December 2024.
“The Society of Thoracic Surgeons congratulates STS National Database participants who have received three-star ratings,” said Dr. David M. Shahian, 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 6.9 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.