Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania Recognizes Regional Hospital of Scranton with Blue Distinction Center+ Award
12/30/2013
SCRANTON, PA - Regional Hospital of Scranton has been named a Blue Distinction Center+ for Knee and Hip Replacement® by Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania, becoming the only hospital in Northeastern Pennsylvania to hold the designation.
To earn BCNEPA’s Blue Distinction Center+ designation, Regional Hospital of Scranton was evaluated based on an objective, evidence-based selection criteria established with input from expert physicians and medical organizations.
“Our goal with the Blue Distinction program is to identify local medical facilities that deliver higher overall quality and positive patient outcomes for a specific area of specialty care, such as knee and hip replacement,” said Kevin Brennan, Vice President of Provider Operations for BCNEPA. “This helps our members, and all local residents, make more informed healthcare decisions.”
Since 2006, consumers, medical providers and employers have relied on the Blue Distinction program to identify hospitals delivering quality care in multiple specialties.
“We are honored to be identified by Blue Cross and Blue Shield as a facility that demonstrates expertise in knee and hip replacement” says John Doherty, M.D., Regional Hospital’s Chief of Orthopaedics. “Meeting Blue Cross and Blue Shield’s quality standards is certainly an accomplishment that our team is proud of. Our physicians consider this unique partnership to be an integral part of our mission to always deliver quality patient care.”
Regional Hospital of Scranton CEO Brooks Turkel calls the designation a great honor, saying it is a tribute to the physicians, nurses, technicians and therapists who helped develop Regional Hospital’s comprehensive programs in orthopedics.
“Our physicians, clinicians and staff of our orthopaedic team should rightly be proud of this designation,” says Mr. Turkel. “Their clinical expertise in this area of specialty care has resulted in better overall results for our patients.”
Regional Hospital of Scranton and Wilkes-Barre General Hospital have also achieved Blue Distinction status for Cardiac Care.
Research confirms that the newly designated Blue Distinction Centers+ demonstrate better quality and improved outcomes for patients, with lower rates of complications and readmissions than their peers. Blue Distinction Centers+ also are more than 20 percent more cost-efficient. The program provides consumers with tools to help them make better informed healthcare decisions. These results will also enable employers, working with their local Blue Plan, to tailor benefits to meet their individual quality and cost objectives.
From left: Gordon Travis, Director of Surgical Services, Regional Hospital of Scranton; Cheryl Hashhagen, Provider Relations Health System Consultant, Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania; Nina M. Taggart, M.D., Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of Clinical Operations, Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania; Theodore Tomaszewski, M.D., Professional Orthopaedics Associates; Brooks Turkel, Chief Executive Officer, Regional Hospital of Scranton; and Fran Zurn, Certified Registered Nurse First Assistant, Regional Hospital of Scranton.
Back