Moore Regional Hospital Recognized for Quality in Cardiac Care
| Date Posted: 8/23/2013
PINEHURST – Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina has recognized FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital as one of the first hospitals in the nation to receive a Blue Distinction Center+SM designation in the area of cardiac care. The designation is part of the Blue Distinction Centers for Specialty Care program.
Blue Distinction Centers are hospitals shown to deliver quality specialty care based on objective, transparent measures for patient safety and health outcomes that were developed with input from the medical community. The new Blue Distinction Centers+ designation level recognizes hospitals that deliver both quality and cost-efficient specialty care.
“We are especially pleased to be recognized by BCBSNC for meeting the rigorous cardiac care selection criteria set by the Blue Distinction Centers for Specialty Care program,” says John Krahnert Jr., M.D., FirstHealth’s chief medical officer.
“As a cardiothoracic surgeon, I am keenly aware of the tough quality and safety measures that are involved with the delivery of high-quality cardiac medicine. Moore Regional’s program has been nationally known for its successful outcomes for more than two decades now, but the successes of the past aren’t enough. We are committed to the continued delivery of compassionate patient care supported by the advanced technology of state-of-the-art medicine recognized in the Blue Distinction Centers program.”
The Blue Distinction Centers for Specialty Care program was developed in 2006 to help patients find quality providers for their specialty care needs while encouraging health care professionals to improve the care they deliver. To receive a Blue Distinction Center+ for Cardiac Care designation, a hospital must demonstrate success in meeting both general quality and safety criteria (such as preventing hospital-acquired infections) and cardiac-specific quality measures (related to lower rates of complications and death following cardiac surgery; and non-surgical procedures, such as cardiac stent placement).
They must also show better cost-efficiency relative to their peers.
Because quality is key, only facilities that first meet Blue Distinction’s nationally established, objective quality measures are considered for designation as a Blue Distinction Center+. Research shows that Blue Distinction Centers+ demonstrate better quality and improved outcomes for patients, with lower rates of complications following certain cardiac procedures and lower rates of health care-associated infections, compared with their peers.
They are also 20 percent more cost-efficient for those same procedures.
For more information about the Blue Distinction Centers program and for a complete listing of the designated facilities, you can visit www.bcbs.com/bluedistinction. For information on FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital and its Reid Heart Center, visit www.firsthealth.org.
