MOUNT PLEASANT, SC -- BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina has designated East Cooper Regional Medical Center a Blue Distinction Center for Spine Surgery®. Blue Distinction Centers for Spine Surgery are part of the BlueCross BlueShield Association’s expansion of its Blue Distinction® designation.
“We are honored to be named a Blue Distinction Center for Spine Surgery. This distinction spotlights the intense efforts and commitment of our spinal surgeons, nursing staff, physical therapy and rehabilitation services and showcases our commitment to providing compassionate, high quality care,” said East Cooper Regional Medical Center CEO Janie Sinacore-Jaberg.
East Cooper Regional Medical Center offers comprehensive inpatient spine surgery services, including disectomy, fusion and decompression procedure.
“Local South Carolina medical facilities with the Blue Distinction® designation are making a difference in health care outcomes and value,” said Dr. John Little, BlueCross chief medical officer. “We congratulate East Cooper Regional Medical Center on putting a high value on research and evidence-based health and medical information and achieving the clinically validated quality standards needed to be named a Blue Distinction hospital.”
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: (For more on selection criteria visit www.bcbs.com.)
. 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 designations 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.
About East Cooper Regional Medical Center
East Cooper Regional Medical Center, part of Tenet South Carolina, is a 104-bed acute care hospital located at 1200 Johnnie Dodds Boulevard in Mount Pleasant. The facility provides a number of services, including 24-hour emergency care, women’s and children’s services, diagnostic imaging services, orthopedics, sports medicine, adult and pediatric rehabilitation services, wound care services and surgical care, including nationally recognized spine surgery and breast reconstruction surgery. ECRMC is accredited by the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, the nation’s oldest and largest hospital accreditation agency.
In April 2010, East Cooper Regional Medical Center will move into a 250,000 square foot technology rich facility at 2000 Hospital Drive in Mount Pleasant. The New East Cooper Medical Center will have 130 acute-care beds, an expanded Level III Trauma Emergency Department , a Level II Neonatal Nursery and more expanded services.
Headquartered in Columbia, SC, BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina 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 and its family of companies include more than 20 subsidiaries involved in health insurance services, U.S. DoD health program and Medicare contracts, and other insurance and employee benefits services.
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 a member’s policy at any facility, persons should call their Blue Cross and/or Blue Shield Plan.