- Excellent Quality of Care
- Evidence-based Awards for Cardiac Care
- Stanford Cardiovascular Health
- Children's Heart Center
- Stanford Cardiovascular Institute (SCVI)
- Center for Marfan Syndrome & Related Aortic Disorders
- Adult Heart, Lung, & Heart-Lung Transplant
- Pediatric Heart and Heart-Lung Transplants and Advanced Cardiac Therapies
Excellent Quality of Care
To review data supporting our excellent quality of care, please see our outcome reports, which consistently reflect our dedication to exceeding national standards of excellence as well as our commitment to best serve our patients.
Evidence-based Awards for Cardiac Care
Blue Distinction Center for Cardiac Care
Blue Shield of California has designated Stanford Hospital & Clinics as a Blue Distinction Center for Cardiac Care, a distinction by BlueCross and BlueShield companies signifying that our hospital has demonstrated our commitment to quality care, resulting in better overall outcomes for cardiac patients. Stanford Hospital & Clinics meets evidence-based clinical criteria, developed by the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association in collaboration with expert physicians’ and medical organizations, including the American College of Cardiology and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, and is subject to periodic re-evaluation as criteria continue to evolve.
“Blue Distinction puts a high value on research and evidence-based health and medical information,” says Allan Korn, MD, Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association Chief Medical Officer. “Blue Distinction Centers show our commitment to working with doctors and hospitals in communities across the country to identify leading institutions that meet clinically validated quality standards and deliver better overall outcomes in patient care.”
3-Star Quality, Higher Efficiency Ratings
The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) has recently developed a comprehensive rating system that allows for comparisons regarding the quality of cardiac surgery among hospitals across the country. Approximately 10% of hospitals receive the “3 star” rating, which denotes the highest category of quality. In the analysis of national data covering the period from July 2007 to June 2009, the cardiac surgery performance of our hospital was found to lie in the highest quality tier, thereby receiving an STS 3 star rating.
UnitedHealth Premium Cardiac Specialty Center
United Healthcare has also awarded Stanford Medical Center with the UnitedHealth Premium Cardiac Specialty Center “Three Stars” and “Higher Efficiency” designations, signifying that our facilities offer quantifiable quality and cost-effective cardiac procedures and cardiac care services. Participation in this program is voluntary, and to be considered for this designation, hospitals must complete a survey and submit outcomes data to the American College of Cardiology and/or the Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Surveys are evaluated on an ongoing basis, and the current designation period began in September 2007 and runs through September 2009.
Beacon Award for Critical Care Excellence
Stanford Hospital’s North Intensive Care Unit (NICU) received the Beacon Award for Critical Care excellence from the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN). This prestigious award is given in recognition of the top intensive care units in the United States and recognizes adult critical care, adult progressive care, and pediatric critical care units that achieve high quality outcomes. The Stanford Hospital NICU staff worked diligently to meet the specific Beacon Award ICU excellence criteria while providing the highest quality of care to their patients and their families.
Stanford Cardiovascular Health
Stanford Cardiovascular Health provides the full range of services for adults with cardiovascular diseases including:
- Arrhythmia/Atrial fibrillation
- Heart failure
- Congenital heart disease
- Coronary artery disease
- Valvular heart disease
- Heart transplant/Artificial heart support
- Thoracic aortic aneurysm
Patients and referring physicians have access to the broadest possible range of treatments, allowing the best choice for individual needs based on the most up-to-date therapies available.
For more information, please visit the Stanford Cardiovascular Health web site.
Children's Heart Center
Lucile Packard Children's Hospital has assembled a team of doctors, nurses and other health professionals who are specially trained to diagnose and treat infants, children and young adults with both congenital and acquired heart disease.
For more information, please visit the Children's Heart Center web site.
Stanford Cardiovascular Institute
Translating new knowledge of heart disease into practical applications to improve heart health is the goal of the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute. Its mission is to improve diagnosis, treatment and prevention, and ultimately to eliminate heart disease.
For more information, please visit the Cardiovascular Institute web site.
Center for Marfan Syndrome & Related Aortic Disorders
The Stanford University Marfan Clinic was established in 1988 by Dr. D. Craig Miller at the urging of the local chapter of the National Marfan Foundation based upon the perceived need to establish a specialized care center in the western United States. At the fifth anniversary, the name was changed to the Stanford University Center for Marfan Syndrome and Related Aortic Disorders to reflect the broader mission of the Center.
For more information, please visit the Center for Marfan Syndrome and Related Aortic Disorders web site.
Adult Heart, Lung, & Heart-Lung Transplant
Stanford has been recognized as the pioneering center for heart transplants.
Dr. Norman Shumway and his colleagues developed the experimental basis for transplants in their early work, which laid the groundwork for the first adult heart transplant in the United States at Stanford in January of 1968. Since then, many innovations have originated with the Stanford program, which continues to advance new techniques in surgery. The Stanford team has conducted more than 1,000 heart transplants.
For more information, please visit the Heart, Lung, & Heart-Lung Transplant web site.
Pediatric Heart and Heart-Lung Transplants and Advanced Cardiac Therapies
Lucile Packard Children's Hospitals' heart transplant program is one of the leading children's heart and heart-lung transplant centers in the world and the only one in Northern California. The first adult heart transplant in the United States was at Stanford University Medical Center. Our team has performed 135 pediatric heart transplants in our history, and we have the largest number of long-term survivors in the world.
For more information, please visit the Pediatric Heart and Heart-Lung Transplants and Advanced Cardiac Therapies web site.
