MYRTLE BEACH -- A team from Piedmont Medical Center accepted the American Heart Association/Stroke Association Get With the Guidelines® South Carolina Distinguished Hospital of the Year award Saturday, March 6, in Myrtle Beach.

This exclusive award is presented by DHEC and American Heart Association (AHA) to a hospital that has made significant contributions in quality of care for patients with cardiovascular disease and stroke. Only one South Carolina hospital is selected annually.

Piedmont also will receive the American Heart Association Silver Award in Coronary Artery Disease and is eligible for a Gold Award for heart failure. Hospitals that have earned a Silver Performance Award follow treatment guidelines in certain key measures at least 85 percent of the time and have maintained this performance for one year. Hospitals that have earned a Gold Performance Award have maintained this performance for two years or more.

The need for quality cardiac care is urgent: The American Heart Association estimates that this year alone, 1.2 million Americans will experience a first or recurrent heart attack.

Blue Distinction Centers for Cardiac Care demonstrate their commitment to quality care, resulting in better overall outcomes for cardiac patients. Piedmont meets evidence-based clinical criteria, developed in collaboration with expert physicians and medical organizations, including the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS), and is subject to periodic re-evaluation as criteria continue to evolve.*

Piedmont offers comprehensive cardiac care services, including inpatient cardiac care, cardiac rehabilitation, cardiac catheterization and cardiac surgery (including coronary artery bypass graft surgery).

“Blue Distinction puts a high value on research and evidence-based health and medical information,” said Dr. John M. Little, vice president of Health Care Services at BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina. “Through this program, BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina is working with doctors and hospitals across the state to identify leading institutions that meet clinically validated quality standards and deliver better overall outcomes in patient care.”

• To be designated as a Blue Distinction Center for Cardiac Care, Piedmont met the selection criteria posted at www.BCBS.com, which includes:
  
• an established cardiac care  program, performing required annual volumes for certain procedures (e.g. a minimum of 125 cardiac surgical procedures annually, including both CABG and/or valve surgery)
  appropriate experience of its cardiac team, including sub-specialty board certification for interventional cardiologists and cardiac surgeons
  
• an established acute care inpatient facility, including intensive care, emergency and a full range of cardiac services
  
• full facility accreditation by a CMS-deemed national accreditation organization
• low overall complication and mortality rates
  
• a comprehensive quality management program
  

Blue Distinction is a designation awarded by Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies to medical facilities that have demonstrated expertise in delivering quality health care. The designation is based on rigorous, evidence-based selection criteria established in collaboration with expert physicians’ and medical organizations’ recommendations.

Today, more than 1,600 Blue Distinction Center designations have been awarded to facilities nationwide, providing consumers with a framework for making informed decisions on where to go for specialty care in the areas of bariatric surgery, cardiac care, complex and rare cancers, knee and hip replacement, spine surgery, and transplants.

* These organizations have provided information and input, but do not formally endorse the Blue Distinction Centers program.

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.

About BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina
Headquartered in Columbia, S.C., BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina (www.SouthCarolinaBlues.com) is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. The only South Carolina-owned and operated health insurance carrier, BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina comprises more than 30 companies involved in health insurance services, U.S. DoD health program and Medicare contracts, other insurance and employee benefits services, and a philanthropic foundation that funds programs to improve health care and access to health care for South Carolinians.

“Blue Distinction puts a high value on research and evidence-based health and medical information,” said Allan Korn, MD, Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association Chief Medical Officer. “Blue Distinction Centers show our commitment to working with doctors and hospitals in communities across the country to identify leading institutions that meet clinically validated quality standards and deliver better overall outcomes in patient care.”

The selection criteria used to evaluate facilities were developed with input from a panel of expert physicians.  To be designated as a Blue Distinction Center for Spine Surgery, the following types of criteria were evaluated. Get more information on selection criteria.

. Established acute care inpatient facility, including intensive care, emergency care, and a full range of patient support services with full accreditation by a CMS-deemed national accreditation organization

. Experience and training of program surgeons, including case volume

. Quality management programs, including surgical checklists as well as tracking and evaluation of clinical outcomes and process of care

. Multi-disciplinary clinical pathways and teams to coordinate and streamline care, including transitions of care

. Shared decision making and preoperative patient education.

The Blue Distinction designation is awarded by the 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 and transplants. The program is part of The Blues® efforts to collaborate with physicians and medical facilities to improve the overall quality and safety of specialty care.

The additional Blue Distinction Centers for Spine Surgery designation will bring the nation’s number of Blue Distinction designations to more than 1,600—and this number is expected to increase in the coming years. 

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.

The ACR is a national professional organization serving more than 32,000 diagnostic interventional radiologists, radiation oncologists, nuclear medicine physicians, and medical physicists with programs for focusing on the practice of medical imaging and radiation oncology and the delivery of comprehensive health care services.