VERO BEACH – The nation’s leading cardiothoracic surgery organization – the Society of Thoracic Surgeons – has awarded its highest quality achievement rating to The Heart Center at Indian River Medical Center, recognizing it as one of the top heart centers in the United States.
More than 900 hospitals, including America’s leading academic medical centers and most respected cardiac hospitals, voluntarily submit their cardiac surgery outcomes for analysis. For 2008, The Heart Center ranked among only 15 percent of programs nationwide to receive Society of Thoracic Surgeons’ highest rating of “Three-Stars.” “This validates our heart surgery program as one of the best in the United States,” said Jeffrey L. Susi, IRMC president and CEO. “It is testimony to the skill and leadership of cardiovascular and thoracic surgeons Drs. Cary Stowe and Mark Malias, the expertise of cardiac anesthesiologists Drs. John Lindenthal and Geoffrey Wolf, and to the entire Heart Center team’s passion for and commitment to providing top quality patient care.”
The STS database, which includes more than 3.5 million patient records, measures the performance of coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery in four areas: surgical quality, appropriate medication, complications and death rates, based on a combination of 11 processes and outcome measures endorsed by the National Quality Forum.***The Heart Center at Indian River Medical Center
An affiliate of Duke University Health System, The Heart Center at Indian River Medical Center opened in November 2006. First year results exceeded expectations in every category when benchmarked against the Society of Thoracic Surgeons national database. Two 1,000-square-foot operating suites, twice the size of traditional operating rooms, feature the latest in advanced technology and equipment. Two state-of-the-art Cardiac Catheterization Labs provide diagnostic catheterizations, balloon angioplasty and coronary artery stenting. The Heart Center offers a comprehensive continuum of care, including a Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit, Cardiac Step-Down Unit and an accredited Cardiac Rehab program. In June 2009, The Heart Center reached a milestone of performing its 500th open-heart surgical case.
