All four Northwell Health hospitals with cardiothoracic surgery programs – Sandra Atlas Bass Heart Hospital at North Shore University Hospital (NSUH) in Manhasset, Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan, Staten Island University Hospital (SIUH) and South Shore University Hospital (SSUH) in Bay Shore – earned prestigious three-star quality overall ratings in several cardiac surgical categories analyzed by the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS). The latest report included data from 982 cardiothoracic surgical programs across the United States and Canada.
The STS report, which reported outcomes from January 2020 to December 2022, showed all four Northwell hospitals with cardiothoracic surgery programs achieved a top three-star quality rating for the procedure known as isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery. An open-heart surgery, CABG creates a new path for blood to flow around blockages in a coronary artery. The surgical team takes a healthy blood vessel from another part of the body and the vessel is connected below the blocked heart artery. The new pathway improves blood flow to the heart. According to STS, 19.4 percent of participants that were scored for CABG surgery received three stars in this category.
“I congratulate all of our cardiothoracic teams and dedicated health care professionals at North Shore, Lenox Hill, South Shore and Staten Island for achieving the highest quality ratings by the STS in CABG as well as their superb outcomes in other cardiac surgical categories,” said Alan R. Hartman, MD, senior vice president and executive director of cardiovascular and thoracic surgery at Northwell Health, and NSUH’s chair of cardiovascular and thoracic surgery. “The superior ratings reflect the commitment and collective expertise of our teams that provide several types of the most advanced open-heart surgeries, in which outcomes are benchmarked against cardiac surgery programs nationally. This ensures we are delivering the highest quality health care to our cardiac surgery patients across the region.”
The STS star rating system is one of the most sophisticated and highly regarded overall measures of quality in health care nationally. In addition to CABG, the society rates the outcomes of cardiothoracic surgery programs in the following categories: isolated aortic valve replacement (AVR) surgery, CABG + AVR surgery, isolated mitral valve replacement/repair and CABG + mitral valve replacement/repair surgery.
The STS report showed Sandra Atlas Bass Heart Hospital and SIUH earned the prestigious three-star quality overall rating in isolated mitral valve replacement/repair, with 10 percent of participants scored receiving this rating; SSUH received three stars for CABG+ aortic valve replacement, representing only 4.2 percent of participants scored; and Lenox Hill achieved a three-star rating for CABG + mitral valve replacement/repair, which was among 7.2 percent of cardiothoracic surgical participants scored to earn the top rating. STS ratings are calculated using a combination of quality measures for specific procedures.
“Northwell’s cardiothoracic teams are dynamic, highly-skilled and passionate about the care they deliver every day to our patients, which is demonstrated in the superior three-star quality ratings our programs have earned in the latest STS report,” said S. Jacob Scheinerman, MD, chairman of the Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital and vice president of the western region of Northwell Health’s Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery. “Innovation is extremely important and we are continually raising the bar to achieve the best possible surgical outcomes. Equally important is the tailored care our patients receive before and after surgery in our health system because we are focused on integrating and optimizing every aspect of care for patients and their loved ones.”
To help cardiac surgery patients with care after they are discharged from the hospital, Northwell offers the “Follow Your Heart” program, which offers home visits to patients after they have undergone certain types of open-heart surgery. A nurse practitioner or physician assistant is available to follow patients through their recovery to provide timely care, alleviate concerns and decrease preventable hospital readmissions.
A nonprofit organization representing more than 7,600 surgeons, researchers and other health professionals worldwide, STS strives to ensure the best possible outcomes for surgeries of the heart, lungs, esophagus and other procedures within the chest by enhancing the ability of cardiothoracic surgeons to provide the highest quality of care through education, research and advocacy.
Participation in the STS adult cardiac surgery database is voluntary, highlighting the importance of Northwell’s commitment to quality improvement and transparency of outcomes.
For information about the STS Adult Cardiac Surgery Public Reporting, see the society’s website: https://publicreporting.sts.org
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