Mercy’s open heart program once again recognized with distinguished STS three-star rating

The open heart program at the Jewel & Jim Plumb Heart Center at Mercy Cedar Rapids has, once again, earned a distinguished, three-star rating in overall performance from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) for its patient care and outcomes in coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). This distinction reflects exemplary results in the following areas: absence of major mortality and morbidity; use of internal mammary artery harvest; and receipt of required perioperative medications. Mercy has received this recognition three times. Less than 10 percent of open heart programs in the U.S. earn this STS three-star distinction.

The STS rating – which denotes the highest category of quality and is the highest rating available – places Mercy among the most elite heart surgery centers in the U.S. and Canada. The star rating is calculated by using a combination of the hospital’s quality measures submitted during a three-year period to the STS Adult Cardiac Surgery Database (ACSD).  

Additionally, Mercy was also recently named, once again, as one of the nation’s Top 50 cardiovascular hospitals by Fortune and IBM® Watson Health®. Mercy was the only Top 50 cardiovascular hospital in Cedar Rapids-Iowa City Corridor to make the list.