INDIANAPOLIS – The St.Vincent Orthopedic Center and St.Vincent Spine Center recently earned the Joint Commission’s Disease-Specific Care Certification for joint replacement and spine surgery, respectively. The Joint Commission is the nation’s premier healthcare accreditation entity.
St.Vincent Orthopedic Center is the only facility in Indiana to be recognized for its hip and knee replacement program. This marks the third time that the comprehensive Orthopedic Center earned the Joint Commission two-year certification. Along with earning top state honors, the St.Vincent Spine Center is the only facility in the Midwest to be granted the spine surgery accreditation.
“We are very proud to be the first certified spine center of excellence in Indiana,” said Eric Potts, MD, co-medical director of the St.Vincent Spine Center and neurosurgeon with Indianapolis Neurosurgical Group. “This underscores our ability to provide outstanding surgical care from preoperative evaluation to postoperative follow-up care.”
The Joint Commission’s Disease-Specific Care Certification Program evaluates clinical programs and recognizes healthcare organizations that demonstrate compliance with national standards and safety goals, evidence-based clinical practice guidelines, and performance measurement and improvement activities.
“The Joint Commission survey process was very extensive, thorough and rigorous,” said Rick Sasso, MD, co-medical director of the St.Vincent Spine Center and spine surgeon with Indiana Spine Group. “It was obvious that the accreditation entity was looking for excellence in a spine program that focused on the patient and quality outcomes.”
The Orthopedic Center’s joint replacement program has one of the lowest blood transfusion rates in the nation. The national average for patients requiring blood transfusion is 30 percent, and St.Vincent averages less than 3 percent. Joint replacement length of stay at the dedicated Orthopedic Center is approximately 2.75 days compared with the national Medicare average of 3.93 days. The shorter length of stay is attributed to the Center’s innovative pain control process, as well as its proactive management of the surgery process.
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St.Vincent Hospitals and Health Services
Driven by the faith of four Daughters of Charity who arrived in Indianapolis in 1881 with $34.77 in their pockets, the St.Vincent Hospital mission is to treat the poor and sick by following our Core Values of Service of the Poor, Reverence, Integrity, Wisdom, Creativity and Dedication. Our healthcare ministry has grown to include seven Centers of Excellence: Women's, Children's, Orthopedics, Cardiovascular, Neuroscience, Cancer Care and Bariatrics. The ageless mission of St.Vincent remains unchanged: to minister to the minds, bodies and spirits of those in need.
