RWJUH Earns Three-Star Rating – The Highest Category of Quality
(New Brunswick) – Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH), an RWJBarnabas Health facility, has earned a distinguished three-star rating from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) for its patient care and outcomes in isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) procedures.
The three-star rating, which denotes the highest category of quality, places RWJUH among the elite for heart bypass surgery in the United States and Canada.
The STS star rating system is one of the most sophisticated and highly regarded overall measures of quality in health care, rating the benchmarked outcomes of cardiothoracic surgery programs across the United States and Canada. The star rating is calculated using a combination of quality measures for specific procedures performed by an STS Adult Cardiac Surgery Database participant.
“Achieving the Society of Thoracic Surgery's three-star designation is among the highest honors a cardiac surgery program can receive. It reflects our entire team's commitment to pioneering advances in cardiac care, including less invasive surgical approaches, rapid and enhanced recovery protocols, and a uniquely collaborative heart team approach. Further, this distinction demonstrates our institution's relentless drive for excellence, and our profound dedication to the health and well-being of our patients and community.” said Mark Russo, MD, MS, Chief of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery and Director of Structural Heart Disease, RWJUH; Professor of Surgery and Chief of Cardiac Surgery, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
“Earning this rating is truly a team effort,” added RWJUH President Alan Lee. “All of our highly skilled and qualified surgeons, cardiologists, advanced practice providers, nurses, cardiac anesthesiologists, perfusionists and technicians work together seamlessly to provide outstanding care and achieve the best possible outcomes for our patients.”
The RWJUH premier cardiac services provide immediate access to highly sophisticated heart surgery. Its cardiovascular surgeons bring their combined expertise to provide patients access to the full spectrum of adult complex cardiovascular care. Our staff includes certified specialists in non-invasive risk assessment, preventive cardiology, treatment of hypertensive and atherosclerotic disorders, diagnostic cardiac catheterization and intervention, clinical cardiac electrophysiology, and pacemaker and automatic cardiac defibrillator implant and follow-up. Advanced cardiothoracic surgery procedures offered at RWJUH include:
- Aneurysm repair
- Aortic Root repair and replacement
- All valve repair and replacement
- Coronary artery bypass grafting
- Minimally Invasive and Robotic Heart Surgery
- TAVR
- Transcatheter mitral valve repair
- Transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement
- Transmyocardial revascularization
- Ventricular Assist Devices (VADs)
- Heart transplantation
- Septal myectomy
“The Society of Thoracic Surgeons congratulates STS National Database participants who have received three-star ratings,” said David M. Shahian, MD, chair of the Task Force on Quality Measurement. “Participation in the Database and public reporting demonstrates a commitment to quality improvement in health care delivery and helps provide patients and their families with meaningful information to help them make informed decisions about health care.”
The STS National Database was established in 1989 as an initiative for quality improvement and patient safety among cardiothoracic surgeons. The Database includes four components: the Adult Cardiac Surgery Database (ACSD), the Congenital Heart Surgery Database (CHSD), the General Thoracic Surgery Database (GTSD), and the mechanical circulatory support database (Intermacs). The STS ACSD houses approximately 6.9 million surgical records and gathers information from more than 3,800 participating physicians, including surgeons and anesthesiologists from more than 90% of groups that perform heart surgery in the US. STS public reporting online enables STS ACSD participants to voluntarily report to each other and the public their heart surgery scores and star ratings.
About The Society of Thoracic Surgeons
The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) is a not-for-profit organization that represents more than 7,600 surgeons, researchers, and allied health care professionals worldwide who are dedicated to ensuring the best possible outcomes for surgeries of the heart, lung, and esophagus, as well as other surgical procedures within the chest. The Society’s mission is to enhance the ability of cardiothoracic surgeons to provide the highest quality patient care through education, research, and advocacy.
About Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH), an RWJBarnabas Health Facility, is a 628-bed academic medical center that is New Jersey’s largest academic medical center through its deep partnership with Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. RWJUH is the flagship Cancer Hospital of Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, a nationally-ranked 2023-24 Best Children’s Hospital by U.S. News & World Report. Centers of Excellence include cardiovascular care from minimally invasive heart surgery to transplantation, cancer care, stroke care, neuroscience, orthopedics, bariatric surgery and women’s health. A Level 1 Trauma Center and the first designated Pediatric Trauma Center in the state, RWJUH’s New Brunswick campus serves as a national resource in its ground-breaking approaches to emergency preparedness. Learn more at rwjbh.org/newbrunswick or bmsch.org
RWJUH has earned significant national recognition for clinical quality and patient safety, including the prestigious Magnet® Recognition for Nursing Excellence and being named to Newsweek’s 2023 list of Best Ambulatory Surgery Centers. The RWJUH Advanced Comprehensive Stroke Center has been recognized by The Joint Commission and the American Heart Association as meeting The Joint Commission's standards for Disease-Specific Care Comprehensive Stroke Center Advanced Certification. RWJUH has also earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for Disease-Specific Care Certification for Spine Surgery; The Joint Commission Gold Seal Certification for Bariatric Services; and The Joint Commission Gold Seal Certification for Hip and Knee Replacement services. The Joint Commission also awarded RWJUH a Gold Seal Certification as well as an Advanced Certification in Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) Implantation.
For more Information visit us online at rwjbh.org/newbrunswick
Contact:
Peter Haigney
RWJUH Public Relations
732-937-8568