Blue Distinction

St. Joseph Health Hospital is designated as a Blue Distinction Center+ for spine surgery, knee and hip replacement and cardiac care by Excellus BlueCross BlueShield. The recognition identifies expertise in quality and cost efficiency in delivering specialty care. Only facilities that meet Blue Distinction’s nationally established, objective quality measures, such as improving care and reducing associated readmissions and hospital-acquired infections are considered for designation as Blue Distinction Centers+. Centers+ are also more than 20 percent more cost-efficient.

St. Joseph’s is one of the first hospitals in the nation to receive a Blue Distinction Center+ designation in the area of cardiac care, as part of the Blue Distinction Centers+ for Specialty Care® program. This recognition was received because of our quality specialty care based on transparent measures for patient safety and health outcomes that were developed with input from the medical community. Such measures include preventing hospital-acquired infections and cardiac-specific quality measures (related to lower rates of complications and death following cardiac surgery and non-surgical procedures, such as cardiac stent placement), as well as showing better cost efficiency relative to our peers.

Since 2006, the Blue Distinction Centers+ for Specialty Care program has helped patients find quality providers for their specialty care needs while encouraging healthcare professionals to improve the care they deliver. For more information about the Blue Distinction Program, visit www.bcbs.com/bluedistinction.