Chippenham Hospital earns elite national recognition for heart bypass surgery for third consecutive time
Chippenham Hospital has once again proved itself to be the Richmond-area’s leading cardiac care provider by earning the highest possible 3-star rating from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) for patient care and outcomes in bypass surgery.
This marks the third consecutive 3-star rating in the category of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) procedures, also known as bypass surgery, underscoring the hospital’s unwavering commitment to surgical excellence and superior patient outcomes.
The three-star rating, which is only awarded to approximately 20% of survey participants, places the hospital among the elite for heart bypass surgery in the U.S. and Canada. The latest analysis of data for bypass surgery covers a three-year period, from January 2022 through December 2024.
“We are enormously proud to once again have our exceptional patient care and outcomes recognized with the three-star ratings from an organization that is dedicated to patient safety and surgical excellence,” said Lance Jones, chief executive office for Chippenham Hospital. “Chippenham continues to set the standard for cardiac care in the region, which would not be possible without the entire cardiac surgery team’s commitment to providing world-class, compassionate patient care."
The STS is a non-profit organization representing cardiac professionals worldwide to help ensure the best possible outcomes in heart, lung, esophagus and other surgical procedures in the chest.
The STS star rating system is one of the most sophisticated and highly regarded overall measures of quality in healthcare, rating the benchmarked outcomes of cardiothoracic surgery programs. The star rating is calculated using a combination of quality measures for specific procedures performed by an STS Adult Cardiac Surgery Database participant.
Bypass surgery is used to treat coronary artery disease and improves blood flow to the heart. During the procedure, a healthy artery or vein is taken from another part of the body and joined, or grafted, to the obstructed coronary artery. The grafted artery or vein bypasses the blocked portion of the coronary artery, allowing the new channel to detour oxygen-rich blood to the heart muscle.
“The Society of Thoracic Surgeons congratulates STS National Database participants who have received three-star ratings,” said Dr. David M. Shahian, chair of the Task Force on Quality Measurement. “Participation in the Database and public reporting demonstrates a commitment to quality improvement in health care delivery and helps provide patients and their families with meaningful information to help them make informed decisions about health care.”
The STS National Database was established in 1989 as an initiative for quality improvement and patient safety among cardiothoracic surgeons. The Database includes four components: the Adult Cardiac Surgery Database (ACSD), the Congenital Heart Surgery Database (CHSD), the General Thoracic Surgery Database (GTSD), and the mechanical circulatory support database (Intermacs). The STS ACSD houses approximately 6.9 million surgical records and gathers information from more than 3,800 participating physicians, including surgeons and anesthesiologists from more than 90% of groups that perform heart surgery in the US. STS public reporting online enables STS ACSD participants to voluntarily report to each other and the public their heart surgery scores and star ratings.