Deborah Heart and Lung Center is among the top 7% in the nation for heart surgery, as rated by the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS). Deborah — New Jersey’s only specialty heart hospital — has received a distinguished three-star rating from the STS for its patient care and outcomes in isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery.

The STS three-star rating is the highest designation awarded by the organization and represents one of the most respected professional benchmarks for quality cardiac surgery in the United States and Canada. Less than 7% of cardiac programs in the country receive this quality distinction. The star rating is calculated using a combination of quality measures for specific procedures performed by an STS Adult Cardiac Surgery Database participant.

“We are absolutely thrilled that Deborah’s quality measures have resulted in the Hospital being among the very elite in the country for heart bypass surgery,” said Paul Burns, MD, Deborah’s Chair of Surgery. “Considering that over 3,800 participating physicians, representing more than 90% of the groups that perform heart surgery nationwide, submitted data to the Adult Cardiac Surgery Database underscores the quality of our patient care and outcomes. This is an especially noteworthy achievement since in addition to cardiac disease Deborah patients often have many other health-related issues. Our team consistently provides sophisticated integrated care to even the most ill patients.”

Deborah’s three-star rating is based on data analysis covering the Hospital’s CABG surgeries from July 2017-June 2018.

“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,” said David M. Shahian, MD, Chair of the STS Council on Quality, Research, and Patient Safety.