MVHI Earns National Recognition for Distinction in Cardiac Care
The Mohawk Valley Heart Institute (MVHI) has been named a Blue Distinction Center for Cardiac Care® from Excellus BlueCross BlueShield for demonstrating better overall quality of care and patient results in cardiac care. MVHI is a collaboration of St. Elizabeth Medical Center and Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare, which provides cardiac-care services at both hospitals. MVHI has earned this distinction annually since 2006.
“Our Blue Distinction program recognizes hospitals that demonstrate higher levels of performance in providing better specialty care for patients," said Dr. Frank Dubeck, chief medical officer for Medical Policy for Excellus BlueCross BlueShield. “Improving quality of care is integral to transforming the healthcare system. Organizations like the Mohawk Valley Heart Institute are helping our community achieve this by offering patients safe specialty care delivered by medical teams with expertise.”
Blue Distinction® is a national designation awarded by Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies to medical facilities that have demonstrated expertise in delivering quality healthcare in the areas of bariatric surgery, cardiac care, complex and rare cancers, knee and hip replacement, spine surgery or transplants.
“The dedication of the physicians, nurses and the entire MVHI team is an inspiration,” said Richard H. Ketcham, FACHE, President/CEO of St. Elizabeth Medical Center. “This designation is a tribute to the one main goal in their efforts, which is the quality of care for all the patients we serve.”
To earn this designation, MVHI was evaluated based on an objective, evidence-based selection criteria established with input from expert physicians and medical organizations. Since MVHI was formed in 1997 the program has performed more than 6,000 open heart surgeries, 13,000 angioplasties and 5,000 electrophysiology procedures. MVHI also received an award of excellence last year from the Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses for its efforts at eliminating deep sternal wound infections.
“We appreciate the designation and recognition. Our cardiac program is unique when compared to healthcare programs throughout New York State. Working together we provide critical services for our community, avoiding duplication and making better use of resources,” noted Scott H. Perra, FACHE, President/CEO, Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare.
About Blue Distinction
Blue Distinction selection criteria cover a broad range of quality measures and are publicly available on www.bcbs.com/bluedistinction. By earning the designation, MVHI has demonstrated:
- An established program, performing required annual volumes for certain procedures
- Appropriate experience of its care team
- Full facility accreditation by a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)-deemed national accreditation organization
- Adherence to evidence-based clinical care measures and guidelines
- A comprehensive quality management program.
To learn more about the Blue Distinction designation, visit www.bcbs.com/bluedistinction.
Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, a nonprofit independent licensee of the BlueCross BlueShield Association, is part of a family of companies that finances and delivers vital health care services to 1.7 million people across upstate New York. Excellus BlueCross BlueShield provides access to high-quality, affordable health coverage, including valuable health-related resources that our members use every day, such as cost-saving prescription drug discounts and wellness tracking tools in our Step Up program. To learn more, visit excellusbcbs.com.
Note: Designation as Blue Distinction Centers means these facilities' overall experience and aggregate data met objective criteria established in collaboration with expert clinicians' and leading professional organizations' recommendations. Individual outcomes may vary. To find out which services are covered under your policy at any facilities, please call your local Blue Cross and/or Blue Shield Plan; and call your provider before making an appointment, to verify the most current information on its Network participation and Blue Distinction status. Neither Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association nor any of its Licensees are responsible for any damages, losses, or non-covered charges that may result from using this resource or receiving care from a Blue Distinction provider.