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Baptist Health Louisville earns 3-star rating from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons

March 17, 2021

The rating places Baptist health Louisville among the elite for these procedures in the United States and Canada.

Louisville, KY – March 17, 2021 – Baptist Health Louisville has earned a distinguished three-star rating from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) for patient care and outcomes in:

  • Isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) procedures for July 2019 through June 2020.
  • Aortic valve replacement (AVR) combined with coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) for July 2017 through June 2020.
  • Isolated mitral valve replacement and repair (MVRR) surgery for July 2017 through June 2020.
  • Mitral valve replacement and repair (MVRR) surgery combined with coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) for July 2017 through June 2020.

The three-star rating, which denotes the highest category of quality, places Baptist Health Louisville among the elite for these procedures 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 in the United States and Canada.

Baptist Health Louisville received the top award, a three-star rating in four of the rated areas. The latest analysis of data includes 980 participants across the US and Canada for the period ending June 30, 2020. Only a small percentage of hospitals received the “3 star” rating, which denotes the highest category of quality. A detailed listing by procedure follows:

  • For isolated CABG procedures, 6.5% of participants that were scored received a 3 star rating; 89.7% received a 2 star rating; and 3.8% received a 1 star rating for the current reporting period.
  • For isolated AVR procedures, 3.7% of participants that were scored received a 3 star rating; 95.1% received a 2 star rating; and 1.2% received a 1 star rating for the current reporting period.
  • For AVR + CABG procedures, 5.0% of participants that were scored received a 3 star rating; 93.5% received a 2 star rating; and 1.5% received a 1 star rating for the current reporting period.
  • For isolated MVRR procedures, 11.0% of participants that were scored received a 3 star rating; 86.0% received a 2 star rating; and 3.0% received a 1 star rating for the current reporting period.
  • For isolated MVRR + CABG procedures, 6.6% of participants that were scored received a 3 star rating; 91.5% received a 2 star rating; and 1.9% received a 1 star rating for the current reporting period.

“This designation represents a great achievement for our program,” stated Samuel B. Pollock, MD, director of cardiac surgery for Baptist Health Louisville. “I am proud of all of the teamwork involved to attain this level of excellence. Baptist Cardiac Surgery strives to provide outstanding heart surgery for all patients in Kentucky.”

“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 provides patients and their families with meaningful information to help them make informed decisions about health care.”

The star rating is calculated using a combination of quality measures for specific procedures performed by an STS Adult Cardiac Surgery Database participant.

The STS National Database was established in 1989 as an initiative for quality improvement and patient safety among cardiothoracic surgeons. The Database includes three 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 hospitals 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.